The Eyeless Devil (HiatusRewrite)
by angelum-tenebrarum
Summary: Born to unique circumstances, rescued from the streets as a child, and raised by the investigator who found him. He wants to find a place to belong in this world but he can't decide where. With the humans? With the ghouls? Does a monster like him even belong in this world? He doesn't even know what he is.
1. The no eyed monster

**Here is the complete rewrite to the first chapter, like I said. I do recommend reading it. Changed a few things, some important, some not.**

 **Check out my profile page, important things you should know. Things to vote on. Next chapters.**

 **Onto the chapter. Warning trigger. Not for the faint of heart.**

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Tokyo.

It's not a half-bad city to be in, quite lovely actually. The people living there are decent, and they're nice to be around. The city's got some good sight seeing, too.

Not to mention, but the coffee shops here are great.

If there was one issue with Tokyo, it would be that in all of Asia it has one of the highest ghoul predation rates. What are ghouls? Simple. Ghouls are a separate species from Humans who look just like them but they are higher count of a special cell called the Red Child or RC cell – named so for it's shape similar to that of a young fetus – than Humans. Due to this high count of RC cells, ghouls are naturally faster, stronger and they can create a natural weapon of RC, called a kagune. Unfortunately, they can't produce the special cell, not without devouring human flesh.

Obviously, humanity would not take this lying down and they fought back. First they surgically removed the kagunes from ghouls then them into wieldable weapons for humans. Following that was the creation of the Center for Counter Ghoul in Japan, dedicated to the elimination of ghouls in their respective country. There's other groups in other countries but the CCG is the most notable. The CCG's propaganda called the ghouls 'monsters'. Somewhat hypocritical, but it worked in less than a year, ghouls who considered themselves at the top of the chain, got pushed down a link.

The cold war between the CCG and ghouls has been long and bloody. Here's a prime example of the conflict.

Deep within Tokyo's fourth ward, one of the city's darker ward, a ghoul was fleeing from an investigator – person who investigates then kills ghouls. The Ghoul wore a large, buttoned, beige trench coat that hid both additional clothing and gender. However the investigator believed it to be male from the heavyset size of his body. The Ghoul wore a mask – as was common when ghouls hunted – that was modeled after a World War Two gas mask. The CCG names both the cases and the ghouls after the most particular aspect of the individual, and thus they labeled him 'Gas Mask'.

The investigator was a lightweight, teenage girl who was beautiful in her young age. She barely was reaching her mid-teens and therefore she wasn't fully developed but she was both supple and curvy. Her grey business clothes – a set of jacket and pants – were hidden partially under an equally grey cloak as it flapped against the wind. She bore violet eyes that were narrowed in clam determination while her chin-length blond hair in a braid that wrapped around the back of her head. She shifted the quinque in her right hand. It was a sea green whip fashioned from a bikaku.

She is Akira Mado, a calm, intelligent girl who was pining to be as great of an investigator as her father. Even though, really, she's not even supposed to be here, she's still a student at the Academy for training investigators. She's not even old enough to be cleared for ride-alongs. She caught wind of the case through the infamous rumor mill. After gaining access to the case-file through some illegal activities, she then figured out the epicenter of Gas Mask's hunting grounds. She then committed some more illegal activities and stole both a car and a quinque. Thankfully, her father had already began teaching her how to drive, which lead her here.

Gas mask looked behind him to see her still persistently chasing him. Not that was entirely a bad thing, actually, it was according to plan. He was originally surprised at Akira's age and had worried about a possible overseer, keeping an eye on her. However, after gaining her attention and being ran down by her without either of them sight of the other, for several blocks, it was starting to become glaringly obvious that the investigator-in-training was alone. Which also worked to their plan, if anything it made it easier.

Gas Mask skidded to halt in front of the opening of one of the many dark alleys that reside in the fourth ward before running down it. Akira followed him without faltering, and in hot pursuit. The alley was like any other in a major city like Tokyo graffiti stained the walls and trash littered the ground. Off to one side sat a large trash bin, that Gas Mask could use to his advantage. Worried that Akira would catch on to the trap, he formed his kagune. A yellow, fleshy rinkaku that closely resembled the tail of a stegosaurus. He impaled one of the spikes into the trash bin and pulled it into to the girl's path before dissolving the kagune. Now this way, it looks like he was trying to run away instead of leading her.

Akira vaulted over the obstruction with an amazing feat of parkour, leaving the Ghoul wondering just what in the hell they taught at that academy. She continued on absolutely oblivious to the danger she was walking right into. The signs of the trap were there and could've been noticed, if she wasn't caught in her inexperience and had tunnel vision, focused on her objective: killing the ghoul. This way she could prove to her father that she is strong enough. That she can help him towards their revenge on the one eyed bastard that killed her mother. Her determination growing, she poor on another body of speed and began closing the distance.

Gas mask nearly panicked at the stubbornness of the girl, and forgot the plan. Collecting himself he realized he almost went past the rendezvous. Taking the next turn before he missed it and reach down that alley, almost running into the wall that made it into a dead end. The Ghoul turned around when her heard the girl's footsteps stop behind him. Akira was breathing heavy, existed from all the excess running she's been doing, but she had what at the Academy. Despite her semi-tired state, she bore a visitor victorious smirk on her face. Clearly, she believes she's won. If she only knew how far from success she actually was.

Akira flourished her whip and prepared to deliver the death blow. "Times up." She said, smugly.

No longer able to contain his glee at her stupidity, Had mask laughed sinisterly, almost psychotically. "My time's up? Don't they teach you anything at Dove School?"

Akira tilted her in confusion, still unaware of her mistake.

"Rule number one of combat, little lady. Be aware of your surroundings."

Finally, she realized her mistake and its depth, turning around to hopefully leave, only to find get path blocked by three new ghouls. Each wore identical clothing to Gas, even included identical masks. All three were of different sizes to the original Gas mask, and their kagunes were formed. One was tall, almost towering and it had a Koukaku made of three, red parallel blades that curved over one of his shoulders and down the arm. Another had a green bikaku that looked like a devil tail and was of average height and size. The final and smallest one of the group had twin ukakus that covered her shoulders like pauldrons.

Before hopelessness set in, Akira remembered advice here father told here when she first entered the Academy.

'Akira, my darling Akira. As you learn how to battle the disease known as ghouls, you'll be fighting difficult opponents. Both human and ghoul. And there will be a moment when you feel hopeless, in that moment I want you to remember one thing: once the enemy before you then, even if it costs you your arms and legs, you fight!'

Taking her father's advice to heart, she shoved away any fears and shortcomings she had and charged the line of ghouls blocking her exit. Hoping to break through and escape, she filled her quinque whip at devil tail who stood on the far left of the group. He leapt back form the whip while Pauldrons caught the weapon on her kagune, blocking it with ease. Three blades used the ukaku-type ghoul as a foot step to jump in the air and use gravity to intensify his attack at Akira with his Koukaku. The investigator-in-training. She part of the sea-green whip around her free arm and stretched it between the handle and her arm, using it to block the strike. It threatened to buckle and snap under the strength of the Ghoul but the people who made it knew their trade and the weapon held.

Akira heard the original Gas Mask swing his massive rinkaku at her head, and she dove to one side, letting the strike fly over her head, she rolled to a stop. Akira saw that the opening to the dead end left undefended after the ghouls attacked. Seeing her chance she ran for it, but Devil Tail appeared around the corner and slapped her back with his bikaku. She was sent flying with her clothes torn at hey midriff and gash across her stomach. The teen slammed into the back wall, coughing up both blood and spit. Thankful that she still had enough luck to not be disemboweled, she attempted to get up. However, she soon learned that her luck out when the ukaku ghoul fired a pair of spikes into the girl's shoulders, nailing her to the wall. Her cry of pain echoed through the alley.

Three blades grinned beneath his mask and his male voice stated. "Like clockwork."

Several buildings over, in the darkness of another alley created by the partial crescent moon that number on the sky, walked another person who had a towering height of over seven feet. He was obviously a ghoul, from his massive ukaku that covered him like cloak, including a hood. All that was visible of his skin was the lower half of his face, which bore pale skin on the verge of deathly. Every step he took was accompanied by large clacking sounds, similar to the sound of large claws hitting pavement. The Ghoul stopped and looked up to the sky when he heard the distinct scream from Akira. When a predator-like grin came on his face, rows of sharp silver teeth were revealed.

' **What a beautiful sound to sweeten such a blasé night.** ' His mental voice was a deep male baritone, that seemed to represent the idea evil.

A cold emotionless of a British boy replied. 'We should check it out.'

The deeper voice chuckled, ' **How cute, you wanna play the hero and save the girl.** '

Not even disturbed by the jab, the child spoke just as cold as before. 'The scream may have been caused by a predation and that may mean food.'

The Ghoul hummed in thought, ' **I guess you're right, let's see what that scream is about.** '

Akira looked at the four similar looking ghouls towering over her from position on the ground, both pain and anger coloring her face. She was going to die, that was a fact that she knew. It was an impossible situation to survive, no doubt. There was no way out, she was pinned to a wall, and there were four ghouls surrounding her, even if she could pull the spikes out, they'd kill hey by the time she stood up. However, just because she was going to die, didn't mean she was going to do it laughing disk like a defeated dog.

The Ghoul with the stego-like rinkaku crouched and analyzed the physique of the girl before him. He had to admit, despite her young age she had a marvelous body and she was filling out on all the right places. Given a few more years to grow, she would have all the men tripping over themselves over her without trying. She was really tempting to him. Rape's not his thing, he prefers a more willing subject but he hasn't been laid in a while. He was willing to bet that it wasn't happening anytime soon.

"Hey, Souta." Stego called out – also proving to be male – to Three Blades revealing his real name. "This chick's kinda hot. Can I have a few minutes _alone_ with her?"

The implication behind the way Stego emphasized the word 'alone', struck a chilling fear through her, her skin paling. Any form of bravado she had was obliterated.

'Does he really mean…?' She trailed off in her mind, not wanting to finish the thought.

"No!" Souta snarled. "She may have an overseer, we must prepare for him."

The rinkaku ghoul scoffed. "Dude, she doesn't have one, trust me. She chased my sexy ass," Pauldrons snorted in ridicule but Stego continued. "Several blocks and didn't see one? Not only that, look at her. She's barely old enough to go on ride-alongs. She's alone."

Souta looked down at Akira, who in turn looked up at him, pleadingly. He knew that she was praying the he would deny Jirou and he planned to. However, Jirou was beginning to become unmanageable and unbearable. They've been at this little ambush operation for over the months now and Akira was only their fourth catch. Even he was starting to lost patience and this was his idea. Overall team morals war low and of out continued to descend it would shatter the plan. While they really didn't have time for this, time needed to be allotted.

Souta sighed in annoyance and weariness. "Fine. Just gag her first and clean up after."

Jirou grinned. "Whatever you say, boss."

"Hey, can I join?" Devil tail asked as he stepped up beside Jirou.

"Sure."

Akira was frozen in horror as they shed their coats, the pieces of cloth polling at the ground. This couldn't be happening. Was she really going be raped and killed, maybe even devoured? Her mind continued this line of that thought, denying the reality that was in front of her. She believed and was in the middle of a nightmare, and she hoped that she would wake up anytime, safe in her bed, at home. She was smacked back down to reality as Jirou attempted to pry her legs apart. She feebly resisted but she failed to the strength of the Ghoul. With nothing else left, no other option open, she screamed.

The Ghoul in the massive ukaku watched as devil tail silenced her with a solid and hard slap to the face before taking off his belt and gagging the girl with it. The abnormally tall ghoul hissed in disgust at the action of violation against the girl before him. Normally, he would've ignored them and continued on his may way, maybe even set up an ambush for a decent meal, especially since she was an investigator. However, rape was against his morals – as small and twisted as they are – in his mind, prey deserves the chance to run or fight back and maybe survive. She wasn't given that chance and was mailed to the wall to suffer hey date. That didn't sit well with him, thus he was inclined, even if Akira was an investigator.

'You know, I'm blaming you for this.' The baritone voice chided the younger one.

The boy replied. 'Hurry up.'

Akira moaned involuntarily as devil tail had reached his hand beneath the great of jet clothing and roughly groped her breasts. As hopeless as it was, she continued to fight back. Twisting and writhing hey body, trying to make it at difficult as possible for her violators. Jirou has been trying to remove her pants for some time, growled in frustration before having her by the waist and pulled sharply. Searing white hot pain coursed through, enemating from the spikes in her shoulders as they pulled at bone and muscle tissue. They didn't tear out of her shoulders but it did cause some additional damage. Akira's vision swam, fading in and out as she nearly passed out from the pain. She barely held onto her consciousness.

Jirou chuckled, "Done fighting?" He slowly began pulling down her pants around her ankles. "Get ready for the best part."

Before he start remove Akira's underwear, a feminine about enemating from pauldrons stole his attention. "What the fuck do you want?"

The ukaku cloaked ghoul stood in front of Souta and pauldrons. They were facing him, uncertain of his presence, ready to kill him at a moment's notice. A notion that almost threw the unknown ghoul in hysterics. If they knew who he really was, they wouldn't be acting so tough. He shifted his gaze between the two Gas Masks in front of him before looking to the group in the back. The ghouls had lost interest in Akira, and was curious in him. Which was the whole point of the big entrance.

Akira stared at the her possible savior, trying to focus through the mixed haze of semi-consciousness, pain and unwanted pleasure. Hope walked slightly when the person showed, some to end hey suffering, maybe even her father. Unfortunately, when she was able to clear her head thus clearing her vision, enough to notice that it was a ghoul, her hope vanished. No way in hell would a ghoul willingly help an investigator, they would more likely join in on the tormenting. She closed her eyes in defeat, surrounded in to her horrid fate.

Pauldrons noticed the ghoul's gaze shifting by the way his head titled. She followed where his war looking to Akira. "Oh, her? We just teaching an investigator her place."

"Shut up, Michi!" Souta snapped at her, who cringed away from him.

Deciding that it was time to start the screaming as Jirou and Devil Tail were starting to turn back to Akira. The girl cringed back half heartedly. He sprung the trap.

Souta sighed in annoyance before apologizing to the recently arrived ghoul. "Please excuse the idiot, she is in need of s… so…OH SHIT!"

Fear filled every other ghoul as the unknown ghoul opened his mouth, flaring his pointed silver teeth and an inner set of jaws attached to a long, black, square tongue came out. A hissing growl could be heard from him.

"Oh, god. No way." Michi hyperventilated in fear. "Not him."

"Xeno." Jirou gasped.

Devil Tail cussed. "Fuck, guys! It's him! Climb the wall!"

His accomplices took his advice and ran for the wall. Jirou and Devil Tail disregarded Akira, moving away from her to find room to use their kagunes to climb the wall. By this time Michi and Souta had arrived, and was getting ready to climb as well. Xeno watched with a grin on his face. He waited till they had started going up the wall to use his 'blur' ability as he and the British boy came to calling it. As the name suggests he became this black blur as he scaled the side wall before making his way to the back wall where everyone else was. All in the matter of second or two. It clung to the wall, facing down at everyone.

Akira, who was still semi unconscious when she saw this and she became fully conscious and aware out of instinctual fear at what Xeno truly looked like. It had no eyes, just a smooth black carapace that covered the top half of his head. Black chitinous like hide covered most his body save for his chest and stomach areas. Spinal ridges went down his back before splitting down two segmented, rinkaku tails that ended in curved blades. His fingers melded into Koukaku claws while his legs were animalistic in nature, ended in three clawed toes. The ukaku that made the cloak was now spread out in a pair of double set of wings, like a butterfly. With a very small set of wings that was used to form the hood. Xeno let out an inhuman ear-piercing screech.

The other ghouls fell back off the wall in surprise and scrambled over each other to run in the opposite direction. The abnormal ghoul grinned maliciously at their weak attempt to run and leapt off the wall after them. He soared over the Gas Mask group's heads and when he landed, he stabbed one of his tails in the ground to both pirouette around and bring himself to a stop, facing the ghouls. They stopped in their tracks, unsure of how they were gonna get out of this without fighting him. They knew his reputation, no one survived fighting, ever. The best chance is to run.

Akira stared at the events unfolding before in a mixture of awe and fear. She knew she was witnessing an alpha predator at work but what she didn't understand was why he wouldn't kill them now? He obviously has the ability to, from what little she's seen. So, why? Why toy with them? Give them hope of escaping before taking it away. Then there's the issue of why he even got involved in the first place. He's a ghoul, she's a human, an investigator of all things. She couldn't help but wonder why he didn't just walk away or join the other ghouls. Eventually, she realized that all this wondering was pointless, as Xeno might kill her afterwards or leave her there to bleed out and die.

Jirou charged the infamous Xeno, spinning around to swing his massive rinkaku with the intent of impaling the other ghoul. The abnormal ghoul dropped to all fours and crystalized the top part of his ukaku, the part that made his hood. A most unique ability that Xeno is sure only belongs to him and he's damn proud of it. He fired twin shotgun-like blasts of ukaku like blasts. When Jirou completed his turn to face Xeno again to see his results only to be met with a chest full of spikes. The impact sent him flying back into the arms of Michi, who – as well as the other ghouls – looked on in horror.

"Jirou!" Souta shouted.

In another black blur, Xeno flashed in front of Souta and swiped his claw at him. Souta was barely able to register what happened and a triple set of gashes across formed on his chest, staining his clothes as he stumbled back. Xeno brought his bloodied claws over his mouth and a few drops of blood dripped down fingers and down the inner jaws. He shivered in pleasure, something Akira found somewhat revolting. He dropped his hand, a solid and psychotic grin spread itself on his face. He dropped to all fours once again, hissing softly and hungrily. His second set of jaws came out and shifted his head side to side. The tongue hovering above the ground, dripping saliva. The action was meant to be terrifying, and Souta was frozen in fear.

Devil Tail however was able to keep his wits about him, run over and deliver a nice solid drop kick to the middle of Xeno's abdomen. The monster-like ghoul let a sharp pain filled screech as it flew and hit the nearby wall, denting it. It fell to the ground in a heap before it quickly rose back up in a battle ready position with supernatural grace and speed. Michi crystalized here ukaku and launched an endless hail of spikes at him. The Ghoul folded his wings like a shield in front of him, the ukaku spikes bouncing off them harmlessly.

Devil Tail took the time given to him by Michi and shouted. "Listen! You need to get out of here! Aogiri can't lose you!"

Without a second thought at the sacrifice his team mates were giving him, Souta nodded and ran back to the wall where Akira sat. He scaled it using his blades to help him up. In short order, he disappeared over the edge of the roof. Xeno saw this without a care. It didn't matter really if one got away, there was three more to feed upon after this was over. He swung one of his rinkakus around and lunged it at Michi. She swiftly jumped to the side, avoiding the strike and landing beside Devil Tail. Xeno folded his wings behind him as he crouched, swaying side to side, the tails writhing like snakes, as he waited patiently for the ghouls in front him.

Devil Tail glanced up where Souta had climbed onto the roof, and scoffed. "Asshole. Barely gave it a thought."

Michi laughed sardonically. "What did you expect? A touching, tear jerker fairy tail moment?"

"Something."

"Not that it matters." Michi said. "So, ready to die, Hiroto?"

The bikaku ghouls gestured for her to go first. "After you. You know. Ladies first."

She glared at him, the effect slightly ruined by the mask. She replied in sarcastic mannerism. "Thanks."

Xeno stood up, finally glad that the ghouls were done with their conversation and had entered a battle ready stance. He was slightly crouched, claws held out on either side of him, he still swayed side to side. Michi fired a short burst at Xeno, who bound of the ground and over the spikes. The larger forewing crystalized into massive sword sized spikes, and he pulled a few out with both hands, throwing them at the two remaining Gas Masks. They jumped in opposite directions, as Xeno hit the ground again in a three limb crouch, his wings reverting to their original form. Deciding to divert his attention to the girl, the hind wings crystallized and he fired a hail of rapid fire at Michi who continued to keep dashing to the side.

Taking the advantage of Xeno's diverted attention, Hiroto came behind the monstrous ghoul and attempted to stab Xeno. Unfortunately, Hiroto didn't have the advantage he thought as Xeno expected such an attack. It is basic hunter pack tactics. However, the attack was a little quicker than anticipated, forcing the movie monster ghoul to use his Flash ability to spin around the lunge before thrusting his claws straight through Hiroto chest. The Bikaku ghoul coughed up blood. Michi froze in her tracks and watched on in horror as Xeno slowly opened his mouth, the inner jaws flexing in anticipation of the kill.

Hiroto raised his hand, gave Xeno the middle finger, and choked out. "Fuck…"

Xeno cut him off, as he bored a hole in the head of the bikaku ghoul with his inner jaw. The jaws retracted, the Ghoul closed his mouth and Akira was the sickly sound of him swallowing.

"Bastard!" Michi howled in rage, firing a swarm a spikes at Xeno.

The Ghoul was too caught up in the pleasure from the taste of the flesh he had just devoured, to notice.

The words left her mouth before she realized it. "Look out!"

Coming back to his senses, Xeno took a quick glance at Akira, then behind him before diving to one side, throwing Hiroto's body in the opposite direction to make the third law of physics work for him. As well executed the maneuver was, it only managed to help him avoid most of the spikes and he was sent spinning as a small group was pierced his shoulder. He felt to ground in a heap, a growl of pain escaping him. This time he didn't shoot back up, this time he stayed on the ground clutching at his wounded shoulder.

Akira's eyes widened in surprise at her actions. 'Why did I help him?'

"So, you can bleed." Michi stated, gloatingly.

Xeno replied with an angry hiss.

Michi snorted in derision, shaking her head. "Well, since I'm gonna die." She stated as she turned towards Akira. "Might as well get the job done."

Without any additional warning, the female ghoul sent a burst of RC spikes at Akira with full intent to kill. As the spikes flew towards her, she closed her eyes waiting for the end to her life.

'Save her.' Ordered the British boy within Xeno's mind, with his usual cold voice.

' **Why?** ' Xeno responded.

'Save her.' They boy said again, a hint of desperation in her voice.

Xeno disagreed. 'We've done all we can and besides, she's an investigator. Who cares?'

'I do. Now, _save her_!' The boy demanded, forcing his will on Xeno. Desperation filling his voice.

Surprised by the sudden take over, Xeno couldn't resist and he was forced to use the remainder of Flash. Blurring from his position on the ground, Xeno threw himself in front of Akira and took the brunt of the ranged attack full on the chest. Xeno coughed up blood, as more splashed out of his wounds. Akira heard the rushed footsteps and disgusting sound of blood splattering on the ground and opened her eyes. She watched as Xeno stumbled to the side before falling to the ground, and blood started pooling from his wounds around stared in surprise and confusion at the monstrous ghoul. She couldn't believe it. The Ghoul saved her but why?

"W-why?" She stuttered.

' **You fucking idiot.** ' Xeno swore mentally as his consciousness faded.

"Holy shit!" Michi exclaimed, laughing triumphantly. "Did I just _kill_ the Xeno? That's got to be like a three rank promotion. Maybe even be one of the One-eyed King's right hand people. Now, all I gotta do is-"

Xeno brought one of his tails around and buried it in her chest between her breasts. " **You talk too much, can't you see I'm trying heal?** " His physical voice matched that of his mental one, except it had a growling under tone to it, brought on by his form.

He let her body fall of his rinkaku as he sat up. Akira stared in shock as the smaller ukaku spikes was pushed out of his body and fell to the ground, the wounds closing behind them. The larger ones refused to do the same and Xeno chose to deal with them later. He stood up and walked over Akira, crouching down in front of her. She watched him with wary eyes, wondering what he might do with her. Xeno stared back, which unsettled the girl as she couldn't see his eyes. A patch yellowing chiton on his hand warned him that his time in control and time he had to help Akira was running out.

Akira opened her mouth to ask the multitude of questions she had, but Xeno reached up and ripped out one of the ukaku spikes. The question that was forming on her lips was replaced a quiet cry of pain. Xeno quickly tore one of the nearby trench coats and started bandaging the wound. Akira noticed that it was practiced, but sloppy. Like he treated many similar wounds, maybe his own, but he hasn't received any official training. He repeated the process with the other shoulder wound. Once again, he was rough with the treatment, same with her stomach wound. During this she noticed several spots on his black chitinous skin were turning a sickly yellow and brittle.

When she was completely patched up, Xeno dropped his hands and saw his condition. ' **Fuck. I hope your happy. Here we are, ready to bleed out and we gonna run out of RC cells. Dumbass.** '

'Worth it.' The younger voice stated returned to it's cold demeanor.

Akira pulled her pants up, shoving away the horrid thoughts of the intrusive caresses and kneeled in front of Xeno. "Why? Why save me?"

Hanging on to the last bits of strength he had the Ghoul answered. "Damned if I knew. Thought it was because rape is against my views on hunting."

The yellowing continued to spread to the rest of his chitin, and Xeno started to fall over.

Akira caught him by the shoulders and held him steady. "What's happening to you?"

"Times up." He mumbled out tiredly. He looked at her and Akira somehow knew he was boring into her eyes with his own. Despite his tired states he stated with a lethal seriousness. "If you have… any sort… of honor. You will… help my… other… self. "

Akira shook her head, confused. "What does that mean?"

Too late though, as the yellowed and brittle chitin started to flake off his body. His legs broke off at the ankles revealing pale feet and a pair of black antennae like bikaku unfolded from the legs, breaking off more chitin. Something writhed beneath the arms before a pair Koukakus that were the length of his arms and ended in bladed digits, colored black, same as the bikakus. The carapace on his head fell off and shattered on the ground, revealing shoulder length, unkempt, black that did not seem to have highlights. His eye color was unintelligible as kakugans were covering them. It was also clear that he was not Japanese, but British. All in all revealing a naked preteen boy, who was covered head to toe in scars.

The boy looked at Akira, a blank expression on his face, the four types of kagunes dissolving behind him. He said, "Help me."

Akira didn't know how to respond as the boy fell over, unconscious, onto her lap. She realized what type of a ghoul lay on her lap. A chimera kakuja of all four types. She's pretty sure that something like this has never been recorded before. Her training and instincts told her she should kill him, he could become really dangerous if given the time to grow, especially that speed burst thing. She gently wrapped her hands in what she hoped to be a good neck snapping position. She needed to do this but something tingled in the back of her mind told her that this was wrong. He saved her life, twice technically. Once when he stopped them from raping her and second when Michi sent those spikes her way and she was gonna repay him by killing him. Steeling her nerves, she shifted her grip and prepared to kill him.

'This way it'll be painless.' She thought somberly.

Before she could she remembered what Xeno said.

" _If you have_ … _any sort… of honor. You will… help my… other… self._ "

Gritting her teeth in frustration, and tried to snap his neck but found she couldn't. She did have honor and knew this wasn't honorable.

She laid his head back down on her lap and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "I don't know of you can hear me but I promise… I will keep you safe. I promise."

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 **So for the record.**

 **Original version: 7 pages in word at size fourteen font, with 3007 words.**

 **New version: 14 pages in word, same font size, at 5708 words.**

 **Now that's a win in my book.**

 **Now, due to the most recent removal of code geass, I need ocs both major and minor. I'll throw what I need/slash want in ocs on my profile, soon.**

 **Here's the revision to the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Now I'm asking, no, begging you. Please review. I almost don't care what it says. It could a one word thing, like 'Awesome' and I'd be happy. I'm also don't mind hate reviews either cause it tells me what I'm doing wrong.**

 **Till next time.**


	2. Akira's contact

_**Alright, here it is. The rewrite to chapter two.**_

 ** _Once again do suggest reading changed a few things, some important, some not. Also, I think I was able to manage more in character thoughts and dialogue._**

 ** _Not much else to say but enjoy yourself_**

* * *

 **Seven years later…**

Akira pulled her red coupe into the parking lot of one the richest hotels in the third ward, also known as Minato, the richest residential ward in Tokyo. Her car didn't blend in with the other more expensive and sleeker cars in the lot but it didn't exactly stand out either as it was a sports car like half the parking lot. The hotel held a classic look to some of the feudal Japan village houses, except it was much larger and defiantly taller. She's didn't bother noting the name of the place, as she wasn't planning on staying here. Despite the fact it probably was way out of her paycheck, she was only here for a case.

Sometime early this morning, one of the housekeepers were making their rounds, going about her day. When no one answered to her knocking and "housekeeping", she used the skeleton key and entered. Everything appeared normal to her and she went about cleaning until she entered the bedroom. There she was met with the gore fest of a half eaten corpse. Soon after, the CCG received a rather demanding phone call from the hotel owner, telling them to investigate. Despite their rudeness, a pair of investigators was sent down and they discovered that this was the work of ghoul who has been giving the CCG a hard time. Thus they sent another pair down to help with the investigation. Leading Akira here.

Akira stepped out her car, carrying the attaché case that held her chimera Quinque Amatsu. She wore standard black business suit with a skirt indeed underneath a grey trench coat. Her hair was done up the same way she usually has it, neck-length with the braid around the back of her head. In the past seven years she grew another foot and filled out a little more, gaining a little more muscle. She was definitely more attractive than she used to be and she tries to avoid presenting it, as it just causes unnecessary time to be lost. Unfortunately, much to her chagrin, she still turned heads every time she walked in a room. Locking the car behind her, she walked towards the front entrance of the hotel.

A shout drew her attention. "Akira!"

Akira looked to see a middle aged man who was taller than herself. He wore a grey suit and tie under an equally grey trench coat. He was heavy set and muscular formed from years of battling ghouls. He had short black hair and a black triangular goatee. He carried a steel attaché case at his side. Yukinori Shinohara used to be her mentor at the Academy before she graduated. He was waiting by the front door, waving at hand at her.

Akira walked over to him and greeted. "Hello, Shinohara. So, you're my partner for this case?"

He shrugged. "It would seem that way?"

"What about your official partner?" Akira asked.

"Juuzou was kinda sad he couldn't go but he didn't mind." The elder investigator explained. "You know, he's been itching to meet you."

A small smile spread on her lips. "I bet."

Shinohara laughed heartily, and after collecting himself, he gestured to the door. "Shall we?"

Akira nodded in response, then rolled her eyes in a exasperated but playful manner as her former mentor opened and held the door open for her. While she's not annoyed with the generous notion, it's just that she receives enough of the chivalry on a daily basis, back home. Nevertheless, she walked in and thanked Shinohara. He followed her quickly, a smile on his face, closing the door behind them as they moved across the lobby. They stopped when the reached the front desk. The receptionist looked at them questioningly and before she had the chance to even open her mouth, the investigators flashed their badges at her.

Seeing that they were from the CCG like everyone else walking past her today, she pointed to the elevators and told them. "Third floor, apartment one-oh-two."

"Thank you." Said Akira.

Akira and Shinohara put their badges away before walking to the elevators, which were located in a hall way of to the side of the desk. They didn't have to wait long for the elevator after pushing the button. After letting the people that occupied the elevator filed out, they stepped in and Akira pushed the third floor button. The elevator rose, the atmosphere was permeated with a still silence. Mainly with a lack of a subject to talk about, but also with a semi awkwardness. The reason being that Shinohara was trying to find something to talk about, which was a changing task when Akira was a participant in the conversation. She's not one to do casual talk while on the job, she's very serious about her work.

Luckily enough for him, the elevator opened up to their floor breaking the silence, and they filed out into the hallway. The walls were painted in a light tan and had grated design, and the floor was made of large, table sized, rectangular, wood planks laid out in a pattern. It didn't take them long to find the right apartment, just a matter of following the order of apartment numbers. When they arrived they found the door open with crime scene stretched across the opening in multiple places. Two normal police officers were posted on either of the door, to keep any unwanted guests entering.

The two investigators flashed their hands at the cops, who nodded in response and held up the tape for them. Akira and Shinohara ducked underneath it, and stepped inside the room. As expected, the room had expensive furnishings, a couch, cover table, and a rather elaborate entertainment center. The walls were a plain white and the floor was lined with a normal tan carpet. Set on the floor beside the bedroom were several open and quite empty utility cases used to store evidence. Several people in the CCG Forensics team were seen through the open bedroom door, roaming around, collecting evidence, taking snapshots

Walking inside the bedroom, the newly arrived investigators were met with the grisly of the crime scene. The once pristine white bedsheets were now stained red from the blood of the half eaten body that lay on top of them. The entire top half was devoured, leaving just scraps of meat on the bones. Arterial spray painted the walls in a crimson. The forensics team were doing their best to collect evidence but the odds were not in their favor. Off to the side over-seeing the entire thing, were another pair of investigators.

Both were in their early thirties and male. They were of equal medium builds but slightly different heights. The one who was taller by about a head compared to his friend and two heads to Akira, had brown hair and brown eyes with an expression like he was bored out of his mind. He wore a tan trench coat over a sloppily worn suit, with jacket unbuttoned, and the tie loose. His partner was shorter but still taller than Akira, and seems to take the situation much more seriously. He wore similar clothing but neater and more proper than his partner. His hair was a blonde to match with the blue eyes, that observed the crime scene with a calm expression, that portrayed very little of his emotions. Just a subtle and calm need, and want to solve this case.

The taller and more juvenile of the two investigators took notice of the new arrivals and drawled out in a derisive tone, "Finally, took you long enough."

The more serious investigator's head snapped up to look at Akira and her companion. "Good. You're here. We're starting to run out of ideas."

Akira nodded in understanding then turned to the corpse. "What do we got?"

"It's what you see." The taller investigator scoffed. "Five bodies in various hotels, of various ratings. No connections between any of the victims except that they're rich and no clues of any form of identification for the ghoul except that it's female. Honestly, I have no fucking clue why in the hell you're even here."

An elbow belonging to the shorter male investigator, slammed into the taller one. A clear message of 'shut the hell up.' The shorter one sighed in annoyance. "Please excuse him. He still hasn't learned any manners. Speaking of which, where are mine? I'm Kohaku Kurosawa, this is my younger brother, Kurou Kurosawa."

Shinohara stepped forward and shook Kohaku's hand, "Yukinori Shinohara, a pleasure." When the eldest investigator went to shake Kurou's hand, the equally as tall but younger male just stared blankly. Shinohara just pulled has hand back, dropping it awkwardly.

The only female investigator stepped forward and introduced herself. "Mado. Akira Mado."

"Akira… Mado?" The shorter Kurosawa asked incredulously. "As in _Warden_ Akira Mado?"

She sighed in defeat and admitted to her identity. "Yes."

Shinohara knew of Mado's reputation. 'Warden' was one of the many aliases she picked up in her as both a cadet and an investigator. It came from her taking case that dealt with clinically insane ghouls. It didn't make much sense to the more experienced investigator. Wardens watched prisons, not psychos but, either way, it stuck. Another name that stuck was solo player. Given to her by some of the you get more recent cadets, she earned by petitioning the upper echelons of the CCG to not be assigned a partner. If she didn't graduate at the top of her class, she would've been denied that privilege. However, some of the brass saw her potential and granted her request.

Akira saw that the brothers were staring at her with a form of awe, and before things could go off track more than they already have, she redirected things. "You had said that you can't ID the perp. Why?"

Snapped out of their stupor, the Kurosawas returned to the situation at hand.

The smaller Kurosawa answered. "Well, to put it plainly, she's either OCD or a damn ghost."

Kurou explained. "No finger prints, no saliva, not even a hair, or other bodily materials. There's not enough left of the eaten portion of the body to take an accurate measurement of the bite size. Also, forensics tells us that there's traces of bleach and other strong cleaning agents. Hell, the only reason we knew that she's a female is the pair of panties we found." He held up an evidence bag holding a black set of indecently lacy woman's underwear.

Shinohara commented on their thoughts, a hand on his chin in thought. "So, we can't ID the Ghoul except that it's female. Not like I haven't worked with less, I would've liked more to go on. Akira, do you have anything."

Akira didn't respond, appearing to be staring of into empty space as she analyzed the facts. All five vics were male of the higher class variety, each found in random quality hotels. They were nude, and half eaten. The Ghoul's female. Not a lot of information and facts to go off of but there is a conclusion to be made from this.

"She's a whore. "

The sudden statement went over the other investigators' heads, leaving them in confusion.

The younger Kurosawa started this conclusion. "What?"

"A prostitute." Clarified Akira. "She's using prostitution to choose her prey."

Kohaku raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How did you come up with that?"

Akira smirked and responded. "Women's intuition."

The brothers looked at her in disbelief, sharing the same thought. 'Really?'

Shinohara forced a laugh down, and clearing his throat, he said. "That narrows our list a little but not by much."

"Couldn't we just look for where the funds went? If she is a prostitute, then she had to get paid." Asked the taller Kurosawa.

"It's a good idea," Complemented Yukinori. "But I doubt that someone who go to such trouble to cover their tracks would let themselves be taken down by something as simple as a paper trail. She probably had him pay cash."

Kurou frowned a little a that but didn't comment on it.

"And if she's as paranoid and as careful as she appears to be. Than she'll have worked hard to hard to stay of the grid and out of legal databases, so we're not gonna get anything out of those." Akira stated, gesturing to the piece of women's underwear.

"Forward one step, back two." Summarized Kurou. "Damn. With what we have we could still get her, eventually, but one or two more people will die in that time."

"Shit." Kohaku sighed, taking a short pause. "All right, we'll head back to our HQ and see if we can't find a pattern. With the new information, as little as it is, we might pull some thing out. Maybe estimate where the next predation will be, and set a trap."

Shinohara frowned. "I don't like waiting for the enemy to make the first but it does seem like our only option."

"Doesn't have to be." Akira said.

Yukinori quirked an eyebrow. "You have another option?"

"No, but a friend of mine does." She turned and walked out of the room, saying, "I'll be right back, got to make a call."

As she stepped out of the room the brothers looked at Shinohara with nearly identical confused looks. He shrugged back, equally confused.

Akira walked through the main room, and straight out to the balcony window. She pushed aside the curtains, and opened the glass sliding door. When she stepped out onto the balcony, she was met the beautiful city skyline. It was one hell of sight, and probably would be better if the was a sunset or sunrise behind. Thinking about it made her long for it. Maybe she should save up some money to pay for a night here and share the view with him.

Speaking of him, she leaned on the balcony wall, and pulled out her phone. Unlocking it, and scrolled through her contacts until she stopped at a particular one. It was labeled with the name Marcus. She hesitated upon calling him.

Should she?

She's already called him onto two other cases, and he was out doing his thing. Those other times she called him in was because he needed it. This time, she needed it. They had no way to hunt down this ghoul, she had covered her tracks too well. It was hard for Akira to admit that she had no way to solve this one. She was good at putting the pieces together, but she was lacking the pieces to this puzzle. He was good at profiling ghouls, way better than most people at the CCG, even her. Maybe he could give her that piece. Yet, she can't help but feel that she was losing some of her pride. She was at the top of her class. Her abilities are on par with her father. She feels that by calling in Marcus, she was admitting that she's not good enough and dependent on someone else to solve her cases.

" _Remember, Akira. Being the best, doesn't necessarily mean being alone. Sometimes you can prove yourself to be better by being willing to place your trust in someone else. So please if you ever need me, just call._ "

Akira smiled, warmly, as the wise words of Shinohara told to her long ago, when she declared her intentions to go solo, resounded in her mind.

She called Marcus.

At Odaiba, that sits in Tokyo Bay just off the coast of Minato, inside the man made island's Tokyo Big Sight, the 2015 AnimeJapan was being held. Massive crowds made of several races attracted from around the world to attend the event, shambled along. They peered into the booths that made up the rows. Each person is either in normal clothing, or some form of garb that represented their favorite Anime or other media character. These types of costumes are called 'cosplays'. A single person stood out from this from the accuracy of his cosplay.

It was reminiscent of the old Victorian fashion. He had on a large red frock overcoat, the kind that's often connected to the American cowboys. Beneath that was a charcoal black suit and a red cravat, complete with black leather riding boots. The red man also had on white gloves that donned Pentagrams with archaic writing surround it. He wore orange tented goggle-like glasses and a large red fedora. His hair was a shadow-like black. A sinister grin never left his face. The cosplayer was also able to pull the towering height of the character, standing at a pretty seven feet even.

The phone that sat in the pocket of the overcoat buzzed to life, releasing one a basic ringtones. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID, reading as Mom.

He stepped off to the side, out of the flow of traffic and answered it. "Hello, mother." His voice was a rich baritone.

"Hey." Akira said on the other side of the line, warmth in her voice.

"For what reason could you be calling me on a fine spring day such as this?"

A small laugh graced her lips as her boy continued to stay in character. "What else? My job. Speaking of which, when are you gonna get one?"

The cosplayer nearly slipped out of character, trying to refrain from sputtering out an answer. Maintaining character he responded. "All in due time, all in due time."

"Uh-huh." Akira hummed disbelievingly. "Anyways. Listen, I've got this case. A ghouls managed to clean up after herself, making it difficult for us. We could use some help."

The cosplayer chuckled, the sound menacing. "Asking for help? My, my, the world might just end."

Akira smiled half-heartedly at his attempt of a joke. "Please, I… I'm stumped. I can't do this, I need help."

The cosplayer paused. He didn't like her sounding so weak, especially since he grew up knowing her to be a strong willed woman. Hearing troubled set a pain through his heart.

"Hey." He broke character to set his mother at ease. The manic grin disappeared and was replaced with a concerned frown. His voice, no longer baritone deep but a higher pitch belonging to that of a boy in his middle teens. Despite it's youth, his voice was firm and assuring. "Don't beg. You're strong. Calling me doesn't change that. Understand? You don't have to beg to get me to come. Just say the word and I'll come running. Now, be strong

She paused, collecting herself, before saying in strong but sarcastic voice. "Where did you get that speech from? Fairy tail?"

"There's the woman I know and love, and no by the way, had that one in the back pocket for a while." Marcus said with pride.

The investigator laughed quietly. "Anyways, get your ass down here. I'll text you the address."

Quickly, Marcus slipped back into character. "My master it shall be done. As you command."

"Nerd."

"Only you can know me so well."

With that the two of them hung up and Akira sent him the information. Marcus studied the address.

'That isn't far at all. We should make it in under an hour.'

' **We'd get there faster if you were willing to shift.'** Replied the gruff voice of Xeno.

'And ruin Alucard? You nuts?'

' **Yes.** ' Came the dry delivery.

Marcus just sighed in annoyance and moved towards the nearest exit.

* * *

 **One hour later…**

"Are you sure he's trustworthy?" Shinohara asked for the third time, trying to make sure Akira was sincere in her decision.

"With my life." She replied for the third time.

During their wait for Marcus to show up, they had migrated to the main room. The brothers were standing with their backs to the door, Shinohara stood in front of them feeding the door. Akira leaned against the wall, just across from the door. For the past hour, ever since she told them she had called someone in, they had been pestering Akira about Marcus. Obviously, they were worried about a possible knife in the back, an understandable fear. Yet, did they have to be so persistent about it. At least, Shinohara and Kohaku were respectful in their opinion. Stating their opinions but not enforcing it. Kurou seemed to show less restraint.

"I don't know about this contact of yours." Kurou declared his disapproval. "I mean, my personal experience – "

'What personal experience?' Kohaku thought dryly, knowing that his younger brother has no personal experience in dealing with outside sources of information.

" – says that someone like this would stab you in the back, first chance he gets." Too caught up in his self-righteous ranting, he didn't hear heavy thuds of boots hitting the floor as Marcus stepped in still dressed up in his costume. Kohaku and Shinohara did and stared at the person who towered over everyone including Shinohara, with shock and awe, respectfully. Marcus stopped just behind Kurou, who still continued his speech. "At shouldn't even bring him in on this. He's a serious threat to both the investigation and us."

"Is that so?" Marcus asked in a perfect imitation of Alucard's voice, malice included.

The way Kurou in absolute fear was almost comical. Thankfully, Akira was really good at maintaining a poker face, so she was able to keep a straight face even though on the inside She was dying of laughter. Shinohara was less composed, as he held a hand over his mouth to hold back a laugh. Kohaku was slowly scooting away, leaving his younger to the wolves, literally and figuratively. Kurou turned slowly, cautiously, as though under the watchful eye of a predator that will pounce at the slightest of movements. Considering the situation, it may be true.

"A suggestion on talking about people behind their backs." Advised the cosplayer, enjoying every bit of torment he was inflicting upon the investigator. His psychotic grin be in size and displayed murderous intent. "Make sure that the person your talking about… _isn't_ in the same room."

Fuex-Alucard stepped closer to Kurou who shaking in great as he stepped back. An aura of murderous intent was rolling off of Marcus like a cloud. His acting was so good, Shinohara and Kohaku had their thumbs resting over the activation buttons for their Quinques. Ready to step in at a moment's notice. Marcus could tell the joke was getting a little out of hand and that he should stop it now. It didn't matter really, it was about time he drove it home.

"Fortunately for you, I'm feeling rather forgiving today. Now, where is the unfortunate soul who was devoured."

Akira gestured for Marcus to follow as she leaned away from the wall picking her Quinque case from the ground, and walked towards the crime. The cosplayer walked past Kurou, and with his massive gait, he easily caught up to female investigator. The younger Kurosawa, fell to his knees as soon as he was released from the towering man's gaze. His heart was throbbing, pumping fresh adrenaline as he had thorough believed the prank that was pulled on him was completely real. That he was death was literally staring at him just a few moments ago. Shinohara followed cautiously behind Akira and the man pretending to be an anime character while Kohaku tended to his brother.

Akira glared witheringly at Marcus and scolded. "That nearly got it out hand. You need to be more careful."

"My apologies. I'll _attempt_ to be more careful in the near future." Replied the perfectly hidden teenage boy who cost to stay in character.

The blonde attempted to intensify the glare she was throwing at him but when he smiled lovingly and flashed her the devil rock horns – which really was 'I love you' in sign language – her anger seemed to melt away. He knew exactly how to make it difficult to be mad at him. Nonetheless, she returned the gesture, after which Marcus slipped back into his Alucard persona. The mad grin returning to the features on his face. Little did they knew that Shinohara saw the entire exchange.

They had made to the bedroom, which was completely devoid of the forensics team. Akira had shooed them out earlier, leaving the body behind at her request, begrudgingly. Marcus stepped right up to the body completely unaffected by the gore fest that was presented before him. Akira and Shinohara had stepped off to the side staying close to the wall. The two brothers stepped in themselves and joined the other two investigators. Kurou did his best to stay as far from Marcus as possible.

"How many others?" Marcus asked.

"Five." Replied Kohaku. "Each found in almost identical conditions. Naked, literally half eaten, and in a hotel. "

"Any biological evidence?" The cosplayer crouched down to bring his eyes level with the body. He swept them across the corpse, taking in every detail.

Akira answered this time. "No. She picked up after her self. Even went as far as to use bleach. "

The dressed up boy whistled in surprise. "Careful, maybe paranoid."

He was about to ask his next question, when he noticed something on the victim. It was on his crotch, specifically it was on his penis. There was extremely dark bruising around the base of the appendage. Now, he will never ever admit this but he knew that it was signs that a cock ring was used. A cock ring is a sex toy or in specific circumstances, a medical apparatus that's placed around the base of an erect penis and is used to restrict the blood flow and keep it erect.

'This is getting interesting.' Thought the cosplayer and asked. "What was the frequency of the attacks? "

Kohaku turned to his brother. "What was it? Sixth kill in two weeks? "

"One and a half weeks, actually but yeah. Why?"

Marcus swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise up at what he was going to do next. Thankful that the makeup he had bothered to put on hid how sickly green his skin was, Marcus proceeded to lift the corpse's penis. That garnered more than a few disgusted reactions from the investigators except for Akira. She was disgusted, yes, but inside she was grinning like a mad man at the black mail she was getting.

The cosplayer gestured to the bruising with his free hand, thankful that he was taught how to keep a façade. "See this? This is cock ring bruising. Was this on the bodies?"

The brothers looked at each other, unsure if there was bruising in that area. Honestly, they hadn't even looked. They also had no clue as to why he would want to know if the victims used cock rings. Yet, there may be somewhere he is going with this. With a simple nod to each other, a message was conveyed. Kurou pulled out his phone and called their medical examiner.

"Hello." Came an elderly voice when the call answered.

"Hey, Yuu."

"Ahh, Kurou. What could be your reason for calling?" Yuu asked in polite manner.

Kurou explained. "It's about the other bodies of the hotel killer case, can you remember of the top of your head if there was bruising around the genitals."

"No, I can't." Kurou frowned in disappointment until Yuu continued. "But luckily enough we don't have rely on my head. I'm in the lab now. If you would give me…"

Everyone watched Kurou with baited silence as the younger listened to the banging off metal against metal and then silence.

After a few minutes of silence Yuu exclaimed. "Well, what do you know there is bruising. On all five victims. This kind of bruising is usually caused by a cock ring or something similar. You know, this reminds of the time I-"

Kurou quickly hung up before You shot off into another one of his stories and turned to the others. "All five victims had similar bruising to this one here."

'Alucard' hummed in thought as let go of the appendage – glad that he was done touching the thing – and stood up, taking a few steps back from the grisly scene. The attacks were frequent, nearly 'binge eater' level. All six were sexual in nature, but how does the cock ring factor in. Then he noticed how the body was eaten. Only from the rib cage up was devoured and it was eaten thoroughly. The Ghoul had eaten the arms, chest, neck, even went as far as to eat the flesh off his face even the organs were missing. All of it to the bone. Not even the binge eater was that thorough. Also, various factors say that he died during or after intercourse.

'Wait a minute.'

A sick feeling grew in his mind but it wasn't his own. ' **Ugh, even I think that's disgusting.** "

"Foot-in-mouth." Marcus called out, giving Kurou a nickname since he didn't know the actual one.

"What?"

' **Damn, he actually answered. That's kinda pathetic.** "

Ignoring his alt-self's comment he asked. "Can you tell me, just how similar are all six predations?"

At least that was something Kurou was able to remember. "So identical, it's scary. We thought we had a serial ghoul or some weird shit like that."

"Well then, prepare yourself. For this is going descend into madness."

Shinohara raised an eyebrow at the wording used. "What do you mean?"

Marcus grinned that maniacal grin and declared. "Our ghoul… has a food kink."

It took a few seconds for the investigators to process exactly what that meant. When they did, the level disgust increased tenfold. No one had puked yet, but Kurou wouldn't need much of a push and Marcus had it.

"She's also addicted to it."

That did it.

Kurou ran to the bathroom, holding a hand over his mouth in an attempt to contain the bile. Everyone sympathized including Marcus. They had seen a lot of messed up things but this really took the cake.

Kohaku knew he was gonna regret this but asked anyways. "How do you know this?"

Marcus explained turned to the others. "The two sins that are most frequently blurred in today's society are gluttony and lust. Humans do all sorts of things with food that would be considered less than indecent. It was simply a matter of time before it crossed over to the Ghoul world. As to why I say she's addicted. Simple, the frequency of the attacks. Six in ten days. That's more than a pass time or curiosity. She loves the intense pleasure and wants more. She's going to kill again and soon." Despite the seriousness of his statement the content had him blushing slightly, which fortunately, his make-up covered.

Akira gave Marcus a questioning look. The cosplayer knew that they were gonna have a talk about this later.

"Now that I've been given the chance to be your Shinya, may I take my leave?" Marcus asked.

Akira nodded. "Yeah, your good."

Marcus turned and walked towards the door. As he stepped through the door frame, Akira whispered something. It was so quiet, no one could hear not even herself. Well, no one except for the Ghoul that had been hiding in plain sight. Marcus heard it as through she was speaking the words directly into his ears. Something they had worked out years earlier. Figuring out just how quiet and how loud she had to speak, to make sure only he got the message she wanted to relay.

"Wait for me downstairs."

Marcus sent her a small nod and then continued to walk out, his foot steps echoing, fading into the distance. At that time Kurou stumbled in leaning against the door frame for support as he wiped his mouth. He looked a little worse for wear.

"Is he gone?"

Kohaku smiled, laughing quietly. "Just left."

The younger of the two's shoulder slumped in relief and he stepped in. "Thank god. He fucking creepy. Is he always like that?"

"Yep." Answered Akira without a moment's pause.

Kurou sighed and walked over to his sibling, sending a dirty glare Akira's way. He launched into a discussion on their next move.

Shinohara turned to the female investigator. "Now, we have motive. This should make finding her next target a lot more easier."

Akira agreed. "Told you he would be of help."

The oldest investigator nodded in both apology and agreement. "Yeah, you were right. He was helpful but I have to ask because I worry –"

"When don't you worry?"

"Good point. But still, how much do you trust him?"

Akira stared thoughtfully into the distance. "More than words can describe."

Marcus went to the lobby downstairs and waited just like Akira had told him to. On the way down, he had shed, practically, all of his cosplay that he had taken the time to make. The first thing he did was take off the gloves that had touched corpse genitalia and stuck those in a bag he had asked the receptionist for when he got to the lobby. He had taken off the large fedora and goggle-like glasses revealing stunning jade eyes that girls would and do fawn over. His pitch black hair, still as wild as it was years ago but no longer unkempt. The word Akira had used to describe it was wind blown. He had also taken off the overcoat, cravat, and the jacket to the suit, leaving him in just the button down shirt and the dress slacks. He placed the clothes in a separate bag from the gloves.

He was now waiting in one of the many comfortable chairs that the hotel owners were nice enough to set out. Fortunately, he didn't wait long as the elevator bell dinged, announcing it's arrival. Marcus turned his head to look at the elevator, just as the doors opened. Akira stepped off it, with her Quinque case at her side. She quickly found where Marcus was waiting patiently for her and walked his way.

"Hey, mom." Marcus greeted.

"Hey." Akira replied. Suddenly a wolfish smirk grew on her face. "So…what was it like? Touching a dead man's penis?"

If one were to describe the face Marcus had, only a single word would suffice. Priceless. Absolutely priceless. His face had contorted into a mixture of embarrassment and disgust. Something like that it's kinda hard to describe but it was most certainly funny. It sure had Akira rolling. Even Xeno was enjoying himself.

Marcus' expression shifted more embarrassment. "Shut up."

' _ **I**_ **wasn't the one who touched a dead guy's dick. That was all** _ **you**_ **.'**

If Marcus had a way to glare at his alt-personality, he would. With near god-like intensity.

Deciding to spare the boy any further embarrassment, Akira smiled and beckoned for him to follow. "Come on."

As Akira walked towards the door, Marcus stood up, picking up his bags and followed her. Together, they walked out the door and to the car. Akira unlocked and opened the back door, setting the Quinque case on the floor board. She closed that door then opened the front one and climbed in, shutting the door. Marcus had waited patiently for Akira to unlock his side. Once she had, the cosplayer opened the door and in true teenager fashion, he carelessly tossed the bags into the back seat before sitting his seat. He closed his door and looked at Akira expectantly. He highly doubted that they were just going to leave, especially since he knew the reason he really was here for.

He could track the Ghoul. She may be in an urban environment and it could've been more than nine hours since she made a run for safety. This would deter any bloodhound from ever tracking her down but he wasn't a bloodhound. Now, was he? He sense of smell is at least twice as strong and that's in his current form. If he were to shift, there would be nowhere the Ghoul could hide that he wouldn't find. There's a catch though, just like a bloodhound or any other animal that tracks by scent, he something to lock on to. Something that'll tell him exactly what he's looking for and that's the issue. The Ghoul used bleach and the thing about bleach, it's a really good way to mess with tracking animals. So unless Akira has something he can use to find the scent, this whole thing was pointless.

As if on cue, Akira reached onto her jacket pocket and pulled out the evidence bag that held the panties. She stumbled across stroke of luck, when on her way out of the crime. She saw that either Kurou or Kohaku had casually tossed it on the kitchen. So while no one was looking, she had swiped it. Quickly leaving afterwards, making up some excuse that she honestly can't remember.

Marcus looked at the bagged underwear that Akira was holding up. He looked at her in disbelief that she would have a pair of extremely indecent panties in a bag. Then he finally noticed that it was an evidence bag containing the women's underwear, and his face then shifted to a mixture of understanding and confusion. It was that hard to figure that they came from the crime scene but he had no idea way she would have them. Suddenly, he had that moment where one answers their own question. He turned beet red as his face contorted into embarrassed horror.

"No way." Marcus disagreed, fervently. "There's no way in hell you're gonna make me sniff _panties_!"

Akira had that challenging look that only mothers can perfect. The one that sends a very clear message. 'Oh, really? You're going do what I say and you're going to like it.'

Marcus contemplated arguing the issue and get out of looking like a pervert. However, lives are at stake and one shouldn't waste time when lives were at stake. A lesson that Akira had made her imperative to teach him thoroughly.

Marcus sighed in defeat. "Shit."

"Language." Akira chastised.

"Sorry." The young Ghoul apologized before holding out an open hand. "Hand it over."

Akira opened the bag and took the black underclothing out, placing it in the boy's hand. He took it and with hesitation, brought it to his nose, and smelled it. To his surprise, he was hit with a wave of extremely strong smells. The first was a honey sweet scent, that he only recognized through descriptions he had read in fanfictions online. Something his mom will never find out. There's another scent as well. It was sweet but it was sickly sweet. A scent he's all to familiar with the scent of blood. Blood in this area could come from only one source. The Ghoul was on her period. This was gonna make things easier, if there one he can track it would be blood.

He started to feel victorious until something started to crawl it's way up from the depths of his mind. He felt hunger, raw hunger. The urge to hunt, the want, the need to shift right there. In front of everybody, show them the monster he really was not the piece of over-powered fiction he's been dressed most of the day. He wanted to run through the streets, to run straight to the female ghoul whose scent he was taking in now. He desired fighting her, to watch as she attempted to survive only to fail, then he would kill her and devour every last bit of flesh she had on her bones.

' **Or…** ' Xeno's gruff voice rasped in his ear. Moments like this Marcus could swear he felt his alt-personality's hot breath tickle his ear. ' **We could give her a taste of her own medicine. After all, she might like it.** '

Pleasant images danced through his mind of him doing exactly what the darker nature described.

Akira noticed that Marcus was taking way to long to get the scent. When she looked at him to ask why, she saw that he was practically clutching it against his face. It looked really wrong and she was gonna crack a joke but she saw things that changed her joking manner to a worried one. He was breathing heavy as though he was aroused. His mouth was spread wide in a wolf's grin that was tinged with madness and hunger. His eyes were half closed in sexual pleasure but enough was visible to tell that his attractive green eyes were covered in the menacing black and red of the kakugans.

The investigator knew exactly what was going on. Xeno was trying to exert his control over Marcus. Usually, the demented psycho was passive just making snide and unhelpful remarks in the back of the teenage ghoul's mind. However, everyone once in a while, about every few months or so, if Xeno doesn't get the chance to get out of Marcus' subconscious and hunt instead of simply being fed, he'll start to get restless. The more instinctual side of the Ghoul would start pushing against any weakness in Marcus' mental fortitude until he got out. Whatever Marcus smelled must've made him feel bloodlust or at least hunger, and Xeno slipped in that mental crack and was making his way out. Even now, she could see that Marcus's teeth were turning silver and were slowly starting to lengthen and sharpen. If she didn't do something now, things could go real bad, real quick.

Without even the slightest hesitation she pulled the underwear away for the boy's face and pulled him against her chest. He hissed angrily, and felt him open his mouth and his second jaws press against her suit. If Akira wasn't able to calm down Marcus, she was sure he would to far gone to realize it's her and kill her, just for being in the way. However, maybe, by holding him like this, he could take in her scent and maybe come back to his senses. With that in mind, she wrapped her arm around him and held him tighter. The Ghoul continued to hiss and he clutched onto the investigator's arms, doubting his fingers into her.

Suddenly, he froze. Akira felt him inhale deeply. She smiled slightly as he did it again.

Marcus was lost in a haze of hunger and bloodlust then something pierced through it. A strong scent, smelling of raspberry, fresh off the tree in spring. It's her favorite perfume especially this time of year. The haze slowly started to fade away and the saner personality began to regain his reason. He realized what had happened and immediately he began crawling his way back into consciousness. Marcus heard Xeno's screeches and of hisses of protest as he was forced back into his mental corner. When Marcus opened his eyes, he found himself pressed against Akira, her arms tight around him. After he noticed that he was still holding to the women's underwear, he reached around and stuffed it in her jacket pocket.

She smiled softly. "You back?"

He nodded.

"You were supposed to hunt a few days ago and last night to make sure you were good for AnimeJapan," Akira said accusingly. Marcus stayed silent. "But you didn't, did you?"

"No." Marcus admitted. "I don't like it when he hunts. No being in control as he mercilessly kills people. I don't like it. Being powerless."

Akira ruffled his hair tenderly. "Yeah, I know."

A retching sound from Xeno echoed from his mental corner. ' **Can we get past all this lovey dovey crap and get to the hunting. Come on, I'm** _ **hungry**_ **!** '

Marcus snapped back. 'Shut up!'

The Ghoul willed away his kakugans and reluctantly pulled away from his adopted mother. "Look, we're wasting time. Xeno's getting annoyed and every second means the perp's that much harder to track."

Akira nodded in understanding and she got out of the car. Marcus reached into the backseat and grabbed one of the bags containing his costume. He opened it and pulled out the goggles before tying the bag back up, tossing the bag back it where it was. He stepped out of the car, locking the door behind him and closing it. Akira locked hers with the key. Marcus walked towards the main entrance of the hotel with Akira following closely. He stopped a few meters from them and took a whiff of the air. Immediately he found the metallic scent of the female ghoul's blood. It was close, really close. He turned his towards the smells until he found himself looking beside his own foot. Their beside was a drop of blood, the red standing out against the whitish – grey of the concrete.

As he crouched down beside the body fluid, Akira asked. "What do you got?"

In response he dipped his fingers in the red fluid and then held it up for Akira to see. It didn't take much figure out what that meant, between the incident a few minutes earlier and the left behind indecent underwear that caused said incident. "Lucky us."

Marcus didn't respond as he looked to the left and right sides of the building. The blood trail continued in both directions, meaning that she had jumped right off the balcony but what direction did she come from and what direction did she go?

' **The apartment is on the right side of the building, idiot.** ' Xeno commented derisively. ' **This is why I do the hunting.** '

'You sure?' Marcus asked.

Silent affirmation was his answer.

'Ok, then. You good? 'Cause I'm gonna need your nose. We're gonna be running through an urban environment and my nose is not good enough for it. We knew that. Yours is, but I need to know you're not gonna go nuts.'

Xeno scoffed. ' **No more then I already am.** '

'Not very comforting.' Marcus sighed in annoyance. 'But I guess it'll work.'

Marcus stood up and pointed towards the left trail of blood. "She went that way, and judging by the spacing between drops, she's running. Let's go."

'Alright, Xeno. I'm trusting you.'

' **Dumb decision, but whatever.** '

Marcus let his consciousness slip back into the depths of his mind as Xeno came forward. When Xeno came to the surface he brought his hand to see of he truly did have control. Sure enough, it moved but he flexed his fingers, just to be sure. His eyes shifted immediately to the kakugans as they've always had when he's in control. The kakuja quickly slipped on the glasses to avoid gaining attention. He turned left in the direction of the leaving blood trail and started following it. Akira followed close behind, keeping a close eye on him. Watching, just in case he were to lose it again.

It was long walk and part of the way through he started jogging. Beside the seriousness of the situation at hand, her mind started to wonder to Marcus said back in the car. It filled her with pride as a mother, adopted or not, that he had grown so much as a person. She remembered the days where he really didn't care if Xeno was running the show or not. Back then she would've said that he enjoyed it but now. Now, he despised not being in control, not being out in the world. He wanted to interact with others. Be human, for lack of a better phrase. As a mother she feels that she was doing right by her son.

When Xeno stepped, she wasn't paying attention and nearly plowed him over. Once they regained their balance, Xeno sent her a glare, the effect slightly stinted by the glasses. Akira was also ignoring him, deliberately, and was observing the building in front of them. It was another hotel, but of a smaller and less extravagant manner than the last one. It stood at five stories tall with a simple design and couldn't have held more than hundred rooms. It was probably cheap or at least as cheap as the third ward gets. That and it's out of the way, making it a good temporary hideout.

Akira noticed that the blood trail ended just a few feet away. Dozens of meters away from the main entrance. 'Did she jump up to the side of the building and climb to the roof? Good way to avoid attention.'

Akira informed the kakuja. "She's using this as place to hide until the heat wears off."

" **Or she's lining up her next kill.** "

Akira stared in shock. She hadn't realized that Marcus had relinquished control. Regaining her composure she said. "Go on ahead, you need to eat. I'll wait out here."

Xeno looked at Akira his head tilted back slightly, a sarcastic and psychotic grin. " **Aw. Why thank you, mother.** "

Akira squinted at him in annoyance. Marcus may be kindhearted but his alter ego is bit of an asshole. Xeno laughed at her reaction before taking off his sunglasses and tossing them to the blonde haired investigator. Without even making sure Akira had caught then, which she did, he jumped, clearing the five story building with ease and landing on the roof the concrete cracking slightly beneath him. He started shucking the clothes off know that if he shifted with them still on they would tear. Then Marcus would never let back out…ever. Once the clothes were off he willed his kagunes to life and started the shift to his kakuja form.

' **Let the fun begin.** '

Akira looked at where Xeno had disappeared over the roof edge. She was more than accustomed to his well above normal ghoul abilities. He's always been more powerful than a normal ghoul and she knew that he could some serious damage if the right circumstances arose. Yet she still hasn't regretted the decision she made years ago…

* * *

 _That night in the alley, on top of all the horrible things that happened, someone had decided that it should rain. Akira had to move quickly to bandage the boy who had done that same for her and save his life. She tore at her coat into thin strips, making swift bandages. The child was still unconscious as she tended to his injuries, but he groaned slightly. After she tied the last bandage, she used her quinque to cut the skin of her forearm lightly, a trickle of blood running down it. She held it up to his mouth but he turned away as though it was revolting to him. She tried to get it closer to his mouth but he still moved away from it._

 _She dropped her arm in defeat. 'How can I help him of he won't eat?'_

 _Then her eyes drifted over the body of Hiroto and she remembered how Xeno killed him. He didn't simply bore a hole, he had also swallowed the flesh and brain matter. She also remembered the conclusion she had reached earlier, that he was a kakuja. Maybe, just maybe, he only ate ghoul flesh. With that realization in mind, she laid him gently on the ground and dragged Hiroto's body over. She used her quinque to cut of a slab of meat from the corpse._

 _She held the piece of meat in front him. "Here, eat up." She coaxed him._

 _It didn't take much coaxing. He awake from his unconsciousness, grabbing and devouring the Ghoul meat with animal like intensity. She just held him as he ate. Akira had a feeling that what she was doing, helping the Ghoul, could potentially be a horrible idea. However, she couldn't let him leave him here too die. He did nothing to harm, in fact he saved her, twice. He wasn't any sort of danger to humanity, he didn't seem to like human flesh. Not only that, he was just a child. She couldn't just leave, for both honor and basic humanity. She reached up and stroke the boys head. He leaned into the girl as he finished his meal._

" _What's your name?" Akira asked, trying to sound kind and soft_

" _Marcus." He replied._

" _That's a nice name."_

" _I'm tired." He said, his eyes_

" _Sleep, I'll keep you safe." Akira assured him._

 _Barely a second passed before he fell asleep, breathing softly. She had no idea how she was going to get to the car without attracting attention. After a few moments pause she came up with an idea. She grabbed the cleanest ghoul and all but stripped him. She dressed Marcus in a black shirt over his bandages and put on the coat and buttoned it up. Luckily enough they wore water proof trench coats so the blood rolled right off. She picked up the boy and carried him out of the alley. She was glad to leave this place and she planned to burn it from her memory._

* * *

Akira returned from her flashback when Marcus – or Xeno, she couldn't tell from this distance – jumped from the roof, landing beside her. He was once again in his normal form and dressed. He walked towards Akira before stumbling from fatigue, due to walking all day and the massive strain shifting does to him, something only Xeno seems to handle. Akira caught him easily but did fall back a step from the sudden weight. Akira hefted one of his arms over his shoulder and half carried, half dragged him to the nearby curb. He attempted to walk along with her but I only managed fumbling footsteps. Together, they sat down on the curb and at that moment her phone rang.

She pulled it out and saw that it was Shinohara who was calling her. She answered it. "Hello."

"Hey." The older investigator responded. "Noticed that your car is still here and was wondering if you needed a ride?"

Akira froze she remembered that she had left her car there. 'Oops.'

"Yeah, we do."

"Where are you?"

After looking around and finding a set of nearby cross streets, she gave detailed instructions on where they were. She said her goodbyes and hung up. She looked at Marcus, who was laying his head on her shoulder. "Hey, Shinohara's on his way."

No use. He was dead asleep. Akira smiled slightly and carefully lifted his head, setting it down on her lap. She looked up to see the sun starting to set. Had it really been that long? She got the call to head for the first hotel after her lunch break, so about one. It only took her an hour and a half to get to there from the CCG main office, bringing her to about two thirty. There was the hour wait for Marcus to show up and that's three o'clock. After that was the two or three hour walk here, totaling to about five or six in the evening. Hell of a day.

Shinohara showed up fifteen minutes later in a grey sedan. When he got out of the car, he paused when he saw Marcus but helped Akira load the teenager in the back seat. She climbed in the passenger seat with Shinohara obviously driving. The blonde told the elder male here address and they drove off. An awkward silence stretched on between them. Both not really wanting to talk about the elephant in the room… backseat. Akira, because she didn't want to try to explain how they got here, Shinohara because he had no idea how to approach the topic.

"So…" Shinohara broke the silence, nervous. "I assume that he's the guy back at –"

"Yes." Akira curtly replied.

Shinohara sighed. The young investigator always got like this when she didn't want to talk about something. But he was curious and he wanted to know the story. "So, how did you meet?"

Akira hesitated in answering. She had a story all set out for this that closely matched the truth but should she tell him? Shinohara's a trustworthy person but he is also faithful to the CCG and one of the things they require is knowledge on offspring, adopted or not. She kept this secret because besides him being a ghoul, she knows a few guys who would try to get into her pants through Marcus. Which was the last thing she wanted for him. She wants Marcus to have as normal of a life as possible without having lecherous assholes trying to play nice with him just to get to her.

"If you worried about telling someone or the wrong someone finding out, don't worry." He flashed a quick and warm smile at Akira. "No one but me is gonna know."

Akira stared at Shinohara. Honestly, she wasn't surprised that he figured. Him, like her and her father, are among the last who still believe in good old fashioned detective work. She sighed then to face the window. "It was soon after I graduated from the Academy, on one of my first cases I found him on the streets, orphaned by ghouls. I brought him home to get some real food in him and he grew on me. Next thing I knew, he's my adopted son."

Shinohara watched her with slight surprise. "You sound like you really care for him."

"He's my son." She stated, the three words saying more than a paragraph of words could. Akira turned to look at him accusingly. "Is there an issue?"

"No." Shinohara answered urgently, trying to avoid the wrong idea. "It's just that I remember you used to have these proverbial walls that surrounded you, spanning fifty meters high. No one could get past it. Then a teenage boy turns out to be ten meters taller."

Akira smiled at the metaphor, one she's familiar with. Thanks to Marcus. "Never thought you liked anime."

"Juuzou does. He really likes the dark fiction ones."

"Marcus likes them too."

They shared a few silent laughs before continuing the drive in silence. Eventually the reached her apartment in the first ward where a good majority of the other investigators lived. It was _the_ most safest ward in all of Tokyo with the home office being there. Being an investigator paints a red target on one's back so practically all the CCG workers live there. After parking, the two doves helped each other in pulling Marcus out of the car. Despite all the movement and Shinohara nearly dropping him, the Ghoul that was hiding in plain sight, barely even stirred.

"He sleeps like the dead." Shinohara commented as he wrapped one of Marcus' arms around his shoulders.

Akira did the same. She smiled at Shinohara. "He's seventeen. What do you expect?"

Together, they carried him through the apartment complex. It was quaint little number. Apartments were spacy and the neighbors were good. Plus another thing this apartment complex and the First ward. It is the most perfect place to hide a ghoul. They reached her apartment. Shinohara held Marcus as Akira unlocked the door. She gestured to the elder investigator to hand Marcus over.

As Shinohara gave the boy to the female investigator, he asked. "You got him?"

"Yeah, I got it." She nodded. "Oh, could you give me a ride tomorrow to get my car?"

"Sure." He agreed. "And don't worry. I'll punch you out."

"Thanks."

With that Shinohara turned to leave and Akira started to enter her home.

"Oh, Akira." Shinohara called out.

Trying stop on a dime while carrying someone is a difficult thing to do, but the female Mado pulled it off. She poked her head to Shinohara looking her way.

"What's his name?" He asked.

She paused before answering. "Marcus Mado."

He nodded and resumes walking away. Akira stepped back into her apartment and as she closed the door with her foot, arms occupied by the teenager, she heard Shinohara call out. "By the way, you left you Quinque in the car."

"Fuck." Was her only response as the door clicked shut.

She carried the teen through the apartment to his room and turned the light. It was simplistic. A desk in one corner with a laptop for his online schooling. There was a bed in the other corner with black sheets and pillow cases. A black night stand sat between them, a radio on top. A walk in closet was placed in the wall opposite form the furniture. Beside that was a full bathroom complete with a bathtub and shower. The walls were a simple white with a carpet floor. The whole thing was almost sparkling clean, even the walls. She had simply asked him to keep it clean and it still surprises her that it's this clean.

She laid him on the bed and pulled the sheets over him. She wasn't going to bother changing his clothes, choosing to spare him of any blackmail embarrassment then she already has. He groans and rolls into a more comfortable position pulling the sheets around him. A faint smile forms on the mother's face as she leans down places kiss on the side of his head. She walked out of the room, shutting off the light and gently closing the door behind her. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, which read 7:33 in the evening. A bit early for bed but she also and walked for several hours, so sleep sounded like a good idea.

She walks into her room and began her nighttime routine. Akira changed her clothes to a pair of sleep pants and a spaghetti strap shirt. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk.

As she drank, she thought to herself. 'Marcus did a good job today. Braving to touch a dead man's penis, sniffed a pair of panties, followed the scent for long distances, and killed the ghoul. I think I'll take him to coffee shop he's been interested. _Anteiku_ I think it's called.'

* * *

 _ **Original version: 15 pages and 4,811 words**_

 _ **New version: 27 pages at 10,267 words**_

 _ **Review. (Uses Alucard's demented love ray.)**_


	3. Of Rabbits and Eyepatches

_**Sorry for the additional week of wait, got delayed by life.**_

 _ **Alright, this one we see a few more changes. Primarily in the order of events and more details on Marcus and Xeno themselves. Something else to note, I'm gonna try to give Kaneki larger part then he did in the last version.**_

* * *

Marcus was awoken by the most terrible thing imaginable… an alarm clock. He lifted one of his hands from beneath the covers and reached over to the night stand beside his bed. He blindly aimed his hand where he thought the infernal device was and brought his hand down. Nothing, he missed and the light sound of skin tapping against wood registered in his mind as failure. He lifted it back up and guessed again, missing again, and hitting open air. He tried again and again for several times until finally he found the beeping piece of plastic and electronics. The Ghoul then fumbled around the machine, looking for the button that would shut it up. When he found it, he pressed it to be blessed with beautiful silence.

"Thank god." He mumbled, drunk with tiredness. He picked up the clock and looked at it. It read 7:00 AM. "Bloody hell."

Despite the urge to sleep that still tainted his mind, Marcus threw off the covers and sat up. Immediately, he noticed that he was still in the white button down and the black slacks. First order of business for him was to take a shower and get into clothes that didn't reak of his sweat. He got up and walked towards his closet. Opening the door and stepping inside, he was met the diversity of his closet. On one side hanging on hooks, was a variety of colors of various Anime merchandise clothing. On the other side was a mixture of greys and blacks and most of them were for the Alien franchise. It could be argued that his closet is diverse but it could also be argued that it's focused. He grabbed a random shirt and pants and went to the bathroom for his shower.

Normally, Marcus would take over half an hour to shower, but today… today there was a sense of importance, like he had to be somewhere. So, he had shortened it down to a quick wash that lasted only a little more than five minutes. He slipped on the pants which were a pair of worn jeans but had left off the shirt. Which left the piece of clothing, dangling on his shoulder. After he finished drying his hair, he tossed the black towel on the hanger and walked out of his room and to the living room. It was spacious, to say the least.

The layout from left to right was this. The hallway that lead to the outside door was to his left. Next to that behind a wall was a fully stocked kitchen with an island, something that is not rarely used to it's fullest. Across from him was the closed door to Akira's room. In the corner after a large empty space was the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony. Next to the empty space was the entertainment center, stocked with a forty inch flat screen, a PS3 and a DVD player, with all games and Anime accompany them. There was a black love seat off to the side of the entertainment center while a tan recliner was placed on the other side.

Marcus walked through the room and into the kitchen. First thing he did was stop at the fridge to get can of coffee grounds, and start making a fresh pot of coffee. He replaced the filter and grounds on the Kroger brand twelve cup coffee pot with fresh sets. Refilled it with proper amount of water. Then he turned the machine on with it at it's highest strength setting. He's probably done this hundred of times, at this point it was muscle memory. He didn't even need to think about what he was doing. Not that he was exactly capable of such a complicated feat.

As the magnificent brown liquid filled caffeine started to brew, Marcus picked a random Anime of the shelves and loaded it in. The opening to Shingeki No Kyojin played while the ghoul spread himself out on the loveseat. His head was resting on his hands on one end while the heels of his feet were propped up on the armrest at the other end. He really wasn't supposed to be sitting like this, Akira said that it could break the couch. If Akira saw him now she would smack him across the back of the head, hard. However, she wasn't out supposed to awake for another hour or two, so he was gonna enjoy this while he could. Little did he know, there was a pair of violet eyes watching him.

Akira woke up roughly around the same Marcus door as her alarm was set for the same time as his. The reason why was that, today was Marcus' sixteen year checkup. She showered, dressed, brushed her teeth and put on what little make-up she actually wore. All in the span of eighteen minutes. She was an efficient woman. She was walking out into the living as she was finishing the famous braid her hair as always in. Immediately, she smelled fresh coffee, a good thing to smell first thing in the morning. Then she saw and heard the TV playing one of the boy's anime. She couldn't see Marcus from behind the loveseat but she could see the ends of his toes at the end.

She frowned in annoyance and slight disappointment. Then she smirked when she noticed exactly what he was watching. A show that completely absorbs his attention. She calmly walked up behind him and peeked over the edge of the furniture. As expected, he wasn't paying a lick of attention, too focused on the animation. She walked around the furniture by his head and whacked him on the back of his head, hard enough to jerk his head forward and nearly make him feel out of the loveseat. Marcus catches himself and sits up immediately. He knew when he was in trouble.

"Hey, mom." Marcus sputtered. "You're up early."

"Yep," Akira replied. "We've got somewhere to be. "

Marcus blinked at her, confused, that did explain the sense of importance but where did they have to go?

Akira quirked an eye brow. "You forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Your checkup today."

He processed for a few moments, and at the same moment the coffee beeped, signaling that the coffee, it finally clicked. "Ohhh."

Akira rubbed her eyes in exasperation, she loves her son, but there were days when she wondered about his intelligence. "It's at seven thirty, so we gotta be ready by eight thirty."

"Alright." Marcus replied as he got up to make his coffee…

"Could you make mine, too?"

…And Akira's too, while he was at it.

* * *

At the CCG research center in the First Ward, no more than a half hour from Akira's and Marcus' place. In the private lab that Head Researcher uses for his own personal studies and research of ghouls and their biology. Several pieces of equipment was spread out through the room. Things like treadmills, CAT scanner, blood testing equipment, and various other pieces of machinery. Off to the side was a sealed room with glass windows that looked into the lab. In the middle of all this was a single medical bed. Sitting in one of the two chairs that were placed in the side room was another investigator.

He was an middle aged man with sunken cheeks like a corpse and a massive grin that bordered on the insane. Long, stringy, shoulder length, white hair adorned his head. He had slim body and slumped shoulders, making him seem shorter than he really is. One eye was as wide as a saucer and the other squinting. The color was near indescribable because the eyes were smaller than pin points but they were of a dark color. The man was wearing a white dress shirt with a red neck tie, and tan slacks under a grey trench coat that had gleaming silver accents. Hands covered by white gloves rested on the Quinque case in his lap. He is Kureo Mado, father to Akira, and one of the CCG's best.

Sitting beside the investigator was none other than Head Researcher Kouitsu Chigyou, he was tall, wearing a black shirt and pants with a lab coat. His straight black hair covered his eyes. "They're late."

"They are." Kureo answered.

Kureo pulled back his sleeve to look at his watch and hummed thoughtfully. "It's ten o' four, so what could be tak-"

At that moment, the door behind them opened and Akira and Marcus walked in. Akira was wearing a standard work outfit, light brown slacks and jacket over a white blouse. Beside her was Marcus, he was in jeans with a black shirt that had a X-ray of the ribcage printed on it. It also depicted the skeletal outline of a snakelike creature curled up inside the ribcage. He also wore a heavyweight jacket that was a dark grey in color. There was lacing that run up the sleeves until they reached identical patches on his shoulders. The patches depicted a group of planets with the word "Nostromo" and the numbers "130286". On the back, "Nosotromo" was also stitched in.

"Excuse our tardiness," Akira apologized. "Had to go fetch my car from the third ward."

The original occupants of the room both raised eyebrows at her reason for being late. However, neither asked any questions, they've heard weirder things from the familial pair.

"Alright, you know the drill." Chigyou said as he stood up and walked towards a door that led to the lab. Marcus followed after the scientist while Akira had taken the seat beside her father.

The check up consists of various tests besides the usual procedure found in any random clinic. It was split into two parts, the first part is the date with Marcus in control and the second part will be with Xeno in control. The comparison of the results from the two is another experiment altogether. The first experiment is the measurement of his physical abilities, with an electronic treadmill that would increase in speed every few seconds and a weight machine that would also steadily increase in weight. The Ghoul would use these machines until he reached his limit and the data would be recorded.

The next test would of his senses, primarily his sight, and hearing. Those were easy to perform with a hearing test machine and an eye chart. Following that was the Cat scan to study his unusual multiple personality disorder. Then there was the blood draw. When Marcus did it everything was fine, but when Xeno did there's was issues…

Xeno in his fully shifted form sat on the gurney, arm held out horizontally. ' **Good thing we ate last night, 'cause this is a bloody waste of RC cells.** '

'Shut up.'

Chigyou held up the quinque steel needle, "Here we go." He inserted the needle into the crook of Xeno's arm.

The Kakuja barely even registered the pinprick. Both personalities have felt worse, a lot worse.

Chigyou started to draw the blood. It went through the needle just fine but when it reached the vial. Things got a little exciting. First thing the ghoul and the scientist noticed was that the blood was a pale yellow then a sizzling was heard. Suddenly, a hole was melted in the glass and the now obvious acid started to leak out. Chigyou immediately distanced himself while Xeno pulled the needle out of his arm to allow the wound to heal stop the more blood from bleeding out. They both watched as the acid melted through the gurney and onto the ground. The liquid melted an inch deep hole in the floor.

"Well," Kouitsu drawled. "That's new."

Xeno just nodded in response, surprised at the new quality his blood had taken.

Chigyou noticed that the needle was completely unharmed while the plastic surrounding the needle and the glass vial were almost gone. Remembering that it was made of Quinque steel, he walked over to a group of cabinets and a counter top that lined one of the nearby walls. On the counter was a large shipping box that was open. Inside it, were various scientific container, like beakers and graduated cylinders, that were made of Quinque steel. Members of the local science community came to him about the viability of the man made metal as a new material too make such items. Guess, they were going to find out.

As he started fishing around inside the container, the sound of metal tapping against metal. Finally, he found what he was looking for, a small beaker, just slightly larger than a shot glass. He walked over to Xeno with the beaker and a scalpel. "Round two?"

Xeno raised an eyebrow even though it couldn't be seen. Resulting in a blank expression as he held out his arm again.

Chigyou nodded awkwardly, "Yeah, okay."

Chigyou tilted the boy's hand slightly and made an incision in his hand. Leaving the blade in the skin so the wound wouldn't close up, the current ghoul expert held the Q-steel beaker beneath the appendage. The acidic blood seeped out, appearing to be harmless to Xeno, before it dripped down the side of his hand into the beaker. As the doctor had theorized, the acid doesn't seem body anything made of, or enhanced by RC cells. Anything else would helpless to the high acidity of the biological fluid. Just like the blood of the fictional creature Marcus and Xeno seem to share an uncanny resemblance with. After he had felt he had acquired enough, Kouitsu removed the surgical tool and let the wound heal.

Chigyou will take the blood sample and run through some standard testing later. However, the fact that it's now to be made of, what is most likely, the strongest molecular acid, is gonna prove to be challenging. However, chemists have studied worse.

After the CCG Head Researcher had carefully sealed and stored the blood samples, the checkup was complete. Xeno relinquished control back to Marcus, resulting in the degradation of his kakuja form. Leaving him buck nude, a eventuality that back to him much too often. He redressed in his clothes that he set aside, so that they wouldn't get torn in the shift. Chigyou uploaded the images from the CAT scans to his tablet. Together, they walked into the adjacent room where Akira and Kureo where waiting patiently, and considering their particular views of their job. Waiting patiently was as natural as breathing to them. Akira did a little agitated when she saw the commotion about the acid even though she couldn't actually see it. Which naturally as a mother only made her worry more but she subsided when Marcus appeared to be unharmed.

Kureo wasn't worried in the slightest. Why should he worry? Marcus is a ghoul, that's all that matters and that's all that _should_ matter. Yes, he may not feed on Humans but that didn't he didn't kill for fun, or they threatened to reveal his presence to the CCG, or even they were just simply in the way. He's a ghoul and he should a deliciously painful and agonizing death. However, if the elder Mado did kill the abomination of a ghoul, his daughter would never forgive him. She was his last connection to Kasuka, and she would also never forgive him for hurting Akira like that. So he'll bide his time. Eventually, Marcus will do something that show Akira the folly in his decision and he'll be free kill the Ghoul. For now, he'll wait.

Marcus walked in, yawning slightly as he sat beside Akira but far away from her father. Marcus wasn't stupid, he knew that the crazy old man hated him and the feeling was mutual. Something about attempted murder does that. The teenager yawned again. However, he was too tired to really care. He wasn't as tired as he would be if Xeno did something more strenuous than sitting but it was still draining. He rested his head on Akira's shoulder, scooting his chair closer to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, that's when Chigyou grabbed the Doctor's stool that was hiding in the corner pulled up in front of the three of them. Marcus reluctantly lifted his head from the semi-comfortable position it was in.

"Well, not a whole lot new this year." Chigyou said before correcting himself. "Except the acid blood thing, that was fun."

Akira looked at her adopted son with a raised eyebrow. Marcus only shrugged in response. He had no idea when that happened, of course, he hasn't bled in a while either.

"Only Xeno has this new development, and it doesn't seem to affect his kagune or Quinque steel." Kouitsu clarified. "Now as I said nothing else is new but we'll go over everything, as a refresher. His kakuhou runs parallel to his spine from the bikaku location to the ukaku location, not surprising, given the nature of his kaghne. He has an unusually high RC count for his kind averaging at about twelve thousand when the norm is between two thousand five. The count rises to about fourteen when Xeno is in the consciousness and that doubles when he 'shifts'. Only Xeno has access to the kakuja form."

The head researcher paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. The older particpants were, but the teenager in the middle wasn't paying a lick of attention. He was just staring into dead space, looking bored. Understandable as it's his body, he knows how it work better than Kouitsu does. Still, it is slightly rude, so Akira elbowed the boy.

Marcus knew that he'd been caught and focused on his doctor.

Dr. Chigyou nodded. "He's one point five times faster and stronger than a ghoul in this form three times that of a human. In his kakuja form he's twice to three times, four to six than a human. Same multipliers for his healing and senses. Xeno's sight is based off pheromones so both of their noses are even more enhanced. Marcus, how are things upstairs?"

"Quiet right now," Marcus answered. "Of course, we did just hunt yesterday and he sleeps for a day or two afterwards."

The Ghoul Researcher clarified his question. "Does he still talk to you?"

The boy scoffed. "A better question would be 'does he know how to shut up?'"

Chigyou nodded. "Marcus' case of DID is most certainly an odd one, hell, I wouldn't even call it Dissociative Identity Disorder, if nothing else didn't apply. First and most obvious. It is unheard of, that the two personalities would interact like Marcus and Xeno do. Also, most DID patients have memory loss or amnesia, a skewed sense of identity, anxiety, depression, and a sense of oneself, others and life in general not being real. Obviously, he does not suffer any of that."

Chigyou let this sink in before resuming. "Now, I do not have to state how special he is, among both Humans and ghouls. Between he mental status and his physical abilities and the fact that his resemblance to the fictional Sci Fi movie monster seems to have increased. Now, I haven't really looked at the new samples but I plan to take a deeper look at his blood. We know for a fact that Xeno did not have acidic blood and that means he's, no, _they_ are evolving and I want to know why. I have a few theories, and I promised that I wouldn't tell you my theories unless they were proven. So, that concludes this year's checkup. Now, please keep an eye out for further developments. They might just randomly pop up, so beware."

With Chigyou's piece said, Akira, Kureo and Marcus stood up,Akira tilted her head slightly to the doctor. "Thank you, we'll keep you up to date on anything new."

"Much appreciated."

As they walked towards the exit, the two men kept Akira between them, with Marcus in front and Kureo taking up the rear.

"Kureo." Chigyou called, stopping the oldest Mado. "I need to talk with you for a sec."

When Akira looked at her father stopped to look at him questioningly, Kureo gestured for her to get going. She did, albeit reluctantly.

Kureo walked back to the chairs and sat in the seat across from Kouitsu. "You wanted something?"

Chigyou nodded. "Remember what we discussed a while back?"

"Yeah." The remaining investigator responded.

"Well, I found something and I think you should hear it."

As the scientist explained what he had found, seriousness grew on the investigator's face. Based on what he was hearing, the game has either gained a few players or it has changed altogether.

"Project Nightmare?" Kureo asked.

Chigyou answered. " _Knightmare_. With a 'k'."

"Are you they're connected?"

Kouitsu nodded. "I had my doubts, but today, I say without a doubt."

Kureo frowned. "Is he the only?"

"Depends on how many survived." Chigyou shrugged. "Most of the data was destroyed, so there no telling how many subjects they actually had. For all we know there's an army."

"Hopefully not." Kureo laughed before standing up. "Thank you for sharing this, the game has changed."

"It most certainly has." Chigyou waved. "Later."

* * *

Akira looked over at the passenger seat of her where Marcus was currently leaning his head on his arm, which was braced against the window. His eyes were drooping, threatening to close in sleep. He wasn't all that tired but he was tired enough that he wasn't paying attention to where they were. Which was the twentieth ward, where that coffee shop he wanted to go to, was located. She looked it up a while back and a lot of the reviews days that they have some of the best coffee around. Also, Marcus had heard in the Ghoul underground that it's a ghoul safe haven. That they supply food for ghouls who refuse to kill to eat. Obviously, he can't be part of that plan but it would be a good place for a job. He wouldn't have to hide that he's a ghoul, even though he would have to hide his exact nature as a ghoul. Marcus wanted come down and get a feel for the atmosphere.

Akira saw that they were getting close and nudged Marcus who at the edge of REM.

Startled awake, he sat up sharply. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, and realized that he had no clue where they were. "Where…?" he asked groggily.

Akira pointed to the highly regarded coffee shop as they passed it. As if simply passing it was enough to wake him up. His head rose in sudden alertness and his head turned to the shop. For a second, he didn't believe it but there it was. Anteiku, the Ghoul ran coffee shop that he's been begging her to take him to for the past month. A wide, open mouthed, smile formed on Marcus' face and his eyes twinkled with childlike glee. He pressed his face against the window to watch Anteiku as it passed by. To think that he was actually was here, was, in his words, 'bloody awesome.'

Moments like this, seeing Marcus' face like that, warmed Akira's heart. Like any other mother, she adores bringing that innocent happiness to their child. It was so hard at first to get him to even react emotionally to anything. She tried so hard to act like a mother back when he first started living with her, maybe even a little too hard. Unfortunately, she didn't have her mother for long, so she didn't have an example to go off of. Eventually, she broke through his wall like he did hers.

Akira quickly found a close parking spot before Marcus could jump out of the car. He did that once before. That was a fun day. After she parked, having predicted exactly what Marcus would do, she reached over and grabbed the scruff of his jacket. At that same second he attempted to open the door and run out of the car, to the coffee shop. The ending result was him floating in the air few seconds his arms and legs flailing out in front of him before plopping back into his seat. Akira knew that if he really he could either drag her out of the car or just drag the entire car. She wondered what kinds of commotion that would cause.

"Mind if we go in like normal people?" She joked.

He looked at her and joked back. "Normal? What is this 'normal' you speak of? Could you please explain it?"

Akira reaction was to smile as she let go of his jacket and smacked him lightly on the back if the head. He gave her a shit- eating in response.

Akira rolled her eyes in response. "Come on, or you don't get any coffee."

He didn't need to be told twice. He and Akira got out of her coupe and started working towards the shop. Already, he could taste the delicious coffins he was going to drink.

* * *

The orange haired guy with headphones around his neck, in an orange and black jacket and green cargo pants, stood up and leaned a little too close to the purple haired waiter. He abruptly asked. "Lemme cut to the chase, are you seeing anyone?"

Her faced turned red though not in embarrassment but in anger. She really wanted to clock him one for that but she didn't want to make the manager mad. So, using her red face she appeared embarrassed and ran away.

The orange haired guy's friend, black haired with a blue sweater over a lighter blue button up shirt with brown pants scolded his friend. "What are you doing, Hide?!"

"Man, what a hottie!" Was Hide's only response.

The black head, annoyed now, chose to threaten. "If I get kicked out of here, I'll never forgive you. This coffee shop is the only place I ever run into her."

Touka stopped running when she was behind the counter. It was only because she wanted to keep this job and stay with the few people she cared about in this world that she hadn't broken that guy's nose or kicked him in the soft spot. There were some days she wondered why she let the manager talk her into this job but the moment doesn't last long. She instantly reminds her that she wasn't talked into joining Anteiku, she chose it. To blend in with humans and live a more simpler life, than what she had on the streets. She doesn't regret that decision, even if it cost someone else who was dear to her.

The doorbell rang, signaling a new costumer. Being the closest employee at the moment she was the one who greeted the new comer. "Welcome to Anteiku. How can I –"

She paused when she saw that it was an investigator who walked through her door. The investigator was a beautiful woman in her early twenties, who was only an inch or two taller than Touka. She was wearing a brown work outfit over a white blouse. She didn't have a quinque with her to announce her profession. Standing beside her was an oddity. The oddity had a height equal to the investigator's and had windblown black hair and stunning jade eyes that grabbed her attention. He wore a dark grey jacket over jeans and a black shirt with an X-ray of a ribcage. It was also quite obvious that he wasn't Japanese, probably from somewhere in Europe or maybe even the US. Nonetheless, the teenager found her self string at his chiseled face. She would be lying to herself if she thought he wasn't handsome. She was so busy in her staring she didn't see him staring back.

Marcus was completely captivated by the girl. She was pretty, there was no denying that. She didn't have a runway model like body, as a matter of fact, more foul men would say she was flat chested and completely unattractive. It wasn't the body he looked at, never was. She was a little shorter than him and Akira. She had shining violet hair with bangs that went down to her chin, covering her right side of her purple eyes. Her work outfit consisted of a black vest over a white dress shirt with the sleeves pulled up and short pencil skirt. She also had blacks leggings and boots. She looked innocent, to the point of looking human, it was a really good act. He would've believed it too, if she didn't smell like a ghoul and if she didn't tense up like she was ready to fight.

Akira looked between the two awestruck teenagers. A mischievous smirk grew on her face. All the blackmail she got yesterday, with the dead man penis and the panty sniffing, got trumped by the love at first sight she just witnessed. Touka eventually realized she was staring and collected herself. Marcus had caught himself also and looked away, with a light blush.

Touka asked as she was supposed to. "How can I help you?"

"Table for two, please." Akira requested.

Touka reached beneath the counter and pulled out a couple menus. "Right this way."

Touka led the two of them to a window table, right next to the guy who had asked if she was dating any one. After they seated, she asked trying to keep her innocent waitress, despite her nervousness. "Are your orders ready now? Or, do you need some time?"

"I think we need some time." Replied Akira.

Touka nodded and walked back to the counter. The manager was there, wiping at a coffee mug with a towel. He was an elderly man in a formal waiter's outfit. His white hair was slicked back and his eyes were closed, hiding his kakugans that never went away. The teenage ghoul looked him nervously and rightfully so. The twentieth ward was the most peaceful ward in Tokyo. Investigators almost never came to this ward and now. They weren't just in the ward, they were in Anteiku. Something the entire staff had worked hard for many years to prevent. Yet, it was happening.

Yoshimura reached out and clasped a firm and comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine. You'll see."

Touka just nodded numbly and waited patiently behind the counter for the investigator and her friend to decide on their drinks. Unfortunately, despite the trust she has for the elder ghoul, she's too paranoid to simply leave this alone. She picked up a cup of the counter hidden behind the other counter, and grabbed the towel that has hanging off a rack. She pretended to be cleaning the cup while she used her enhanced hearing to listen on the conversation that Akira and Marcus were having.

Marcus was slouched back in his chair, his head resting against the back of the seat. He wasn't bothering to look at the menu, he couldn't even drink half of the items on there. Being a ghoul and all that. Akira, however could and was looking through the all the options they had. It was actually pretty extensive. From straight black coffee to full flavored Frappuccino's. It was almost as selective as Starbucks, except it had optional flavor add-ins. It's was originally surprising to her that a 'hole in the wall' shop like this would get all the positive reviews it has. Looking at the menu, it's not all that surprising anymore.

"They've got a good selection, Marcus." Akira said. "I know you don't drink most of it but you should look, anyways."

When she didn't receive an answer, Akira peeked her eyes over the edge of the folded of piece of paper and laminate. At first glance he would look asleep, but he's not. His head is tilted a fraction towards and the eye closest to the clear solid was open. His other eye was closed, assisting with the illusion that he was asleep. The open eye was looking at the window. Akira thought he was staring at empty but he was too focused on something for that to be true. Her second thought he was looking at something outside except there was nothing interesting to look at, not that intently. Then the investigator realized that he was looking at the reflection n the window. Following the most likely path of his reflected gaze, she found he was looking dead at Touka.

She smirked. "So, Marcus. Have you found something that caught your eye? A girl, maybe?"

Marcus heard Akira this time and looked at her with both eyes. He blushed as he lied. "I – I have no idea what you're talking about."

Akira just shrugged. "I mean, she is pretty cute and all."

Marcus suddenly shot forward and hissed, both his face and Touka's face tomato red. "Mom!"

Akira suggest. "Hey, I'm just saying. She's cute. You should try making for her name."

"Doubt she'll even talk to me." He countered. "Did you see how she reacted when we walked in? She knows who you are."

Akira nodded. "I saw that too, and I also saw her looking quite intently at you and you looking back."

Marcus looking away as his blush intensified. He mumbled, "Shut up."

Akira smiled, then turned back to the menu, changing the subject. "I think I'm gonna have an iced white chocolate mocha with chocolate shavings and chips."

'That's a lot of chocolate.' Touka thought.

Marcus shivered in disgust.

Akira sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. "What can you say about an iced mocha? You've never had it. You always get coffee that's darker than your hair."

"It's not like I can _have_ mocha, either."

'What? Why can't he have mocha?' The female ghoul mentally asked.

"Good point." Akira agreed before raising her hand and calling out. "We're ready!"

The purple haired girl set down the cup and towel she had in her hands and walked over to them, pulling out the pen and pad she keeps in her pocket

In his usual display of chivalry, Marcus gestured for Akira to go first. "I'll take a large Iced White Chocolate Mocha with chocolate chips and shavings, please."

Touka nodded as she finished writing the investigator's notes. She turned to Marcus. "And you?"

"Coffee. Straight." He said simply.

After the female ghoul finished writing his order, she turned to leave.

"Actually, wait." He called out. "One more thing."

Touka turned and looked at Marcus with her eyebrows raised. Marcus looked around to make sure no was looking in their direction then to be sure he raised his hand to cover an eye. The fingers were spread so that eye was still visible to Touka but his plan minimalized anyone else seeing. Then his jade eyes were covered by kakugans. Touka's own eyes widened as she looked towards the investigator. She looked at the female ghoul pointedly and 'crossed her heart. Silently promising that she wouldn't tell anyone. The boy dropped his hand as the kakugans faded away.

At first Touka didn't know what to think about what she had just witnessed. Ghoul and human relationships were rare but not unheard of. After all there is the infamous myth of the one eyed ghoul, born from human and ghoul parents. However maternal or paternal relationships like the one she's seeing is rare enough, but a ghoul and investigator. Something like what Akira and Marcus had, was quite literally one in a million. Touka knew that however they got together, it was an odd story. For some reason in a redirected train of thought, she wondered how he got food. That train of thought turned down a darker path as she thought of him betraying ghoul organizations to the CCG and getting paid with a blind eye to his hunting.

She soon believed it was the only way that it was the only way that the CCG would let him live. The unsureness on his to feel was replaced by the emotion of betrayal Touka sent Marcus a glare of absolute hatred, then went to go make their drinks.

Marcus sighed. It probably wasn't too hard to guess what that glare had meant.

Once Touka was behind the counter again, she grabbed a large cup and pulled a tray of frozen coffee cubes out of the fridge underneath the counter. Also pulled out a container that had a label that read 'white chocolate sauce', a jug of milk, and coffee. An iced coffee is not all that hard to make, there so many different recipes for it, the hard part is choosing one. Tokua looked up to see a silent exchange pass between Akira and Marcus.

Akira gestured towards Touka and mouthed. _Talk to her._

 _No._ Marcus replied.

 _Go talk to her._ Akira insisted.

The kakuja again disagreed. _No._

 _You ain't about it._

 _I ain't about it._

 _You're a pussy_

 _I am a pussy_

Akira frowned as she thought of way to convince him to go talk to Touka. She smirked as an idea flew into her mind. She leaned forward. _If you go talk to her, I'll buy attack on titan manga for a year._

Marcus froze. He knew that his mother had got him. A year's worth of AOT manga for a few minutes of talking to a girl who's probably planning to kill. That's a fair trade.

He sighed and bowed his head. He got up reluctantly and walked over towhee Touka was staring to make their drinks. He took the tall chair in front of her at the same time she pulled out the blender. He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him by cracking the ice tray and putting the ice cubes in the blender. The sauce, milk and coffee was poured in afterwards, then she covered the blender with it. He tied to talk with her again but she turned on the blender, interrupting him, again. He sent a deadpan look her direction, to which Touka replied with a cocky smirk. After she stopped the machine she poured it into a cup. Touka took silent enjoyment in interrupting him but it wouldn't last long. She had to make his drink and that's a more quiet process.

As Touka pulled out the filter, the coffee grounds and the brewing stand, Marcus had the chance to talk. "What's your name?"

Touka glared at him while she took a near hot pot of water and poured it into the filter. "Touka."

He smiled. "I'm Marcus."

"Oh, yeah? What's your friend's name, the investigator?" She growled.

"Akira Mado for one thing." He sighed. "And despite what it may seem, I'm not traitor."

"Uh huh." She replied disbelievingly.

"There's more to the story."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Care to share?"

His head dropped as he mumbled. "I – I can't."

She scoffed. "What I thought."

She poured the freshly made coffee into and added the chocolate shavings and chips. After sprayed whipped cream on the iced drink, she handed the drinks to him. "That'll be nineteen hundred and eighty nine cents, sir."

Marcus frowned. "If you not going to believe me, maybe you'll believe evidence."

Touka tilted her head in confusion.

Marcus took the drinks and explained. "Talk to your manager. If there's anything I learned in my time with investigators. It's that everyone has a contact. I know. Ask him to look up Akira Mado. You'll see what I mean."

Not long after he left, Marcus came by and dropped off the money. Touka looked at him with slight surprise. Why would he be bothering to convince her like this? Maybe, she what she figured him out to be was all wrong. Then why in the hell would the CCG want to keep him around. If he had nothing of value to give them then why is he still alive. Unless, the CCG has no clue about him or at least, has no clue that he's a ghoul. Then, why does Akira keep him around And how does he eat? Not to mention his scent. It would be hard for Touka to describe but it the scent of a ghoul but stronger, more intense. To say that Marcus was a mystery to Touka was an understatement.

Now, it was a mystery she was willing to hear. She sighed with apprehension. 'Shit.'

Marcus frowned as he sat back in his seat across from Akira. 'That could've gone better.'

"So…" Akira asked. "How'd it go?"

"She thinks I'm a traitor and is planning my murder." He groaned.

Akira saw movement in the corner of her vision. The investigator hid her smirk behind her cup when she saw who was walking up. "I wouldn't lose hope just yet."

Marcus looked to see Touka take a seat between him and his stepmother. He had a questioning look.

"I – it - it's custom in Anteiku to be there for a first time customer." Huffed the coffee shop employee. "Don't think I've changed my mind about you."

"Uh-huh." Marcus nodded but didn't say anything more. Letting the girl keep her dignity. He nodded to Akira "Ladies first."

Akira rolled her eyes at her son's antics. She leaned forward and sipped her drink. As she expected, it was really good. "Chocolate." She mesmerized. "Your turn."

Marcus raised the cup to his lips and blew on the steaming hot liquid. After cooling it off with his breath a few more times, he took a drink. He froze as the coffee hit his tongue. The professional way to tell if a cup of coffee is any good, is through the judgement of it's fragrance, temperature, body or it's viscosity and weight, taste, aftertaste, and if it has it, latte art. Marcus only looks at the taste, aftertaste, and it's body and by his standards. It was the most perfect cup of Joe he has drank, ever, of all time. The body was like someone had found a way to turn velvet into a liquid and poured it down his throat. The taste is based on personal preference and his preference was bitter. Bitter, it was. The combination of the flavor and viscosity almost seemed dual natured, something he knows all too well about.

Before he had the chance to control himself, Marcus guzzled the rest of the caffeinated beverage. He slammed down the cup, without it breaking or cracking in any fashion and the British accent he learned to conceal slipped out as he shouted. "It's bloody delicious!"

Stunned by the sudden outburst, Touka stared at the kakuja in surprise.

Akira facepalmed. "Here we go."

Marcus clenched his heart as he described. "It's a kind hearted young woman who's very sweet smile warms the heart of any gentleman lucky enough to witness such a beauty, but…" The coffee enamored ghoul changed his voice to a hushed whisper, like he was telling a secret. "… beneath the innocence, lies a cold bitterness with a mischievous smirk that stirs forth more impure thoughts."

Marcus was completely unaware that the entire café was staring at him as though he was completely mad, which given his condition, might be an accurate description.

Marcus probably kept if the guy with the orange hair didn't comment. "He must really like coffee."

The black haired guy sitting across from him agreed. "I guess."

Marcus' head jerked back as if something sudden flew in front of him. He looked around sheepishly as he slumped in his chairs. He laughed nervously, "That was bloody embarrassing."

Akira said sarcastically. "Not at all."

Touka was stunned into silence. "uhhh…"

Akira jut sighed before turning to Touka. "I didn't get your name."

"And you won't."

Marcus sent the fellow ghoul a look the begged her to give Akira a chance.

Touka contemplated this. The dangers of telling the female CCG worker her name was obvious. Then she had to consider how much Marcus and Akira seem to trust each. They considered each other to be family, so maybe there's something in that. What? She had no clue but maybe she should try placing her trust in them.

"Touka Kirishima."

"Pretty name." Complemented Akira as she drank more of her iced coffee.

Touka blushed slightly as she averted her eyes. "Th – thank you."

"Anytime." A faint smile appeared on the Dove's face.

Marcus, now regretting that he guzzled his coffee because he wanted more, changed the subject. "So, Touka. What do you know about Xeno?"

The purple haired ghoul scoffed. "As in the No Eyed Demon of the fourth ward?"

"Yeah."

"Just that he some sort of urban legend that everyone in that ward believes. There's even a reward for the person who takes him down. I even heard that it's double if he's dead."

Marcus and Akira blinked in surprise. They knew that Xeno was notoriously as the most dangerous ghoul around, right up there with Owl. Considering that he carved out that reputation in just five years was impressive. The name No Eyed Demon was some of the first names that ghoul underground gave him before Xeno took a short trip to the twenty-fourth ward and painted his name on the walls…in blood. So, the name and reputation wasn't new and neither was the fact he had a bounty on his head. The fact that it's double if someone kills him was entirely new to them but not completely surprising.

Touka looked in confusion at the two of them. "Why at you guys interested in an urban legend?"

"The CCG heard about him from many ghouls and were starting to get worried. So, they assigned me to the case." Akira lied smoothly.

Touka smirked. "Well, if the rumors are true then you're screwed."

"I'll manage."

"Touka," Yoshimura called. "We're about to hit the lunch rush."

"Okay!" Touka answered before getting up. "Excuse me."

Akira gave a casual wave goodbye as the ghoul walked back to the counter. "That wasn't too bad."

Marcus said. "I guess."

The doorbell jingled as a new customer walked in. At the same time an intense smell of human blood slammed into Marcus like a semi-truck. Marcus immediately tensed up as his eyes snapped towards the direction of the door. Walking in was an extremely beautiful woman, as in nearly gave every male present whiplash as they craned their heads to drool in her direction. She had silky smooth violet hair that flowed down into small tie that hung over one shoulder. Her magnificent and equally purple eyes were hidden by a pair of eyeglasses. A white dress that ran past her knees adorned her hourglass figure, it revealed some of her abundant cleavage but not indecently so. Dark blue sleeves ran down to the middle of her for arm. The whole thing gave a form of innocent seductiveness. Attracting attention without being up front about it.

Marcus could tell she was a ghoul but it hard to tell underneath the overwhelming scent of blood that lingered on her. Which was more than enough of a red flag for him. His sense of smell is abhorrently strong if yesterday's events were any indication. Bloodhounds can't hunt through a city like that. All the scents would mix up and become a congealed mess but the kakuja could do it. So, the fact that he could barely tell her race when he was practically on top of her was shocking. However, it also revealed her identity. There was only one way to get that strong of a scent on you and that is bathe in it. Which meant that Ms. Innocent Beauty is not that innocent. She's the binge eater.

Akira wasn't blind to the way Marcus was acting. She's seen plenty of times. His muscles would tense up like he was ready leap into action at the drop off a hat. "Marcus, what is it?"

He didn't answer. His eyes stayed focused on the binge eater, like a predator would look at another predator trespassing on their territory. Akira herself started tensing up and she berated herself for not bringing her Quinque. It was one of the many lessons both her father and the academy taught her. Never be caught with your pants down and her she was half naked for all intent and purpose. Marcus would be here only line if defense and as far as she knew Xeno was still asleep. Xeno was better at using their kagune. Literally, both Akira and Marcus were forced to bet on the ghoul wanting to keep her identity a secret and that was assuming she didn't chose to slaughter everyone and call it a day.

As she walked by, the black haired college student that sat with the orange haired one, said, "That's her. That's the girl."

The binge eater walked past them and to a table in the back.

"You don't have a chance." Replied the orange head. "You and her would be like Beauty and The Bonehead."

"You mean the _beast_!"

'If you only knew who really filled those roles.' Marcus thought.

The orange head stretched and yawned. "Whatever. Now that I've seen you love sick, I've got black mail for days." He pulled a few coins from his pocket and dropped it on Kaneki's book. "I'm gonna jet."

The other college student stared at him in disbelief. "What? You're leaving?"

"I'll see you later, Touka." The orange head said insinuatingly as he passed by Touka. As he exited, he shouted. "Good luck, Kaneki! You're gonna need it!"

Kaneki, as he was now named, huffed in annoyance as his friend left. Sweeping the money off his book and onto the table, he picked up the novel and flicked to his last read page. He attempted to read but his eyes drifted to his crush. She was reaching into her purse and pulled out her own book. As she opened it, Kaneki realized that she was reading the same exact book he was. It was that moment when she saw him looking at her. He quickly averted his gaze and pretended to be reading his book. He wondered if she saw him and was still looking. Temptation took over and his eyes shifted over. She wasn't just looking at him, she giggled slightly and smiled. He smiled back then to his surprise she got up and walked his direction.

She stopped in didn't of Kaneki. "Hi." The seemingly innocent ghoul greeted softly.

Kaneki stuttered, shocked by the fact that she was telling with him. "H – hello."

She shyly said. "I saw you looking at me earlier."

The college student's heart leapt into his throat. "You – you did?"

"I did." She clutched her book nervously as she answered.

She was good actor, that much was evident. It was top notch near professional. The ghoul knew exactly how to use her body language, tone voice, everything. Executed in the right manner, to appear to be shy. From making her self seem small, insignificant, like she wanted to be invisible and her voice was small, meek. Very common traits for someone who was embarrassed to be in a potentially awkward situation like that. The act had Kaneki, hook, line and sinker

"I'm Kaneki."

"Rize." She straightened herself to seem more confident. "Call me Rize."

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable I just noticed that we have the same the book." He held up his book for emphasis.

"Really?" She looked at book in her hand and the one on Kaneki' hand before giggling. "Who'd have thought."

Rize took the seat across from Kaneki and they just started talking. Marcus ignored all the small talk, waiting for them to either make a date or for Rize to leave. Unfortunately, they were forced to wait for over half an hour. In that time he and Akira had three fake conversations, and two refills. Finally, they got to the important part.

Rize pulled a phone of her purse and looked at the time. "It's one o' four, I really should be thinking about food."

Seeing his chance, Kaneki blurted. "I know a place. It's called Big Girl, they have really good food there. I could take you, if you want."

Rize clapped her hands together and exclaimed. "Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Let me pay for my coffee and we can go."

"OK."

Rize called one of the other Anteiku employees to pay for her coffee while Kaneki collected his things. Then together they walked to the exit of the coffee shop and Marcus' eyes never left them. He watched as Kaneki opened the door stepped outside, holding the door for the femme fatale. She nodded her thanks to him and walked outside. Kaneki followed her letting the door close. Marcus leaned his head to the side to watch as they turned down the street and were walking away. The kakuja slowly counted to ten in his mind, giving Rize the chance to get out of sight, so that him and Akira could get to their car without alerting the binge eater. As soon as he finished the count, he got up. Getting the message that it was time to go, Akira followed.

As the British teenager walked out the entrance, a faint whisper reached his ears from Touka of all people. "Kick her ass."

The green eyed ghoul smirked as he and Akira left the shop. They were down the stairs and out to the case when Akira asked. "Who was that girl? You looked like you were going to pounce her."

"Would've too." Marcus replied as he walked around the vehicle to the passenger side while Akira stayed on the driver side. He leaned on the roof. "I'm pretty sure she's the binge eater."

"How do you know?"

Marcus clapped twice and held out his hand as if catching something. Akira tossed him the keys and after he caught them he answered. "Because she smells like she took a three hour soak in human blood."

Akira nodded.

The British ghoul unlocked his did then shed his jacket. "I need you go to the house and get the First Aid Kit. You still running that bloody tracker in my arm." He tossed his jacket into the seat.

A year after he started living with Akira and after she lost him for a few days on one of his hunting trips, she insisted that he get a tracking important in his arm. He asked albeit reluctantly. Akira replied. "Never stopped."

"Okay." Marcus took off his shirt and tossed it in the car as well. "After you get the Kit and an extra of pants for me. Get back ASAP. Kaneki's gonna need the help." He sat down on the edges of the seat and started taking off his shoes.

The investigator nodded. "What about you?"

After he finished removing the foot covering, he tossed them on the floor board. Standing, he looked at Akira with a mischievous smirk that was similar to Akira's own. "I'm gonna do what predator's do best. Stalk their prey." With that he turned and ran down the street in Rize's direction before turning down the alley

Akira looked in the direction he once was. It wasn't only five years ago that it was so hard to even go get him hunt a ghoul if he wasn't hungry, let alone try and save someone. Most of the time he would actually use the victim as bait. It was startling how emotionless he was for an eleven year old boy. Now, he has taken a complete one eighty. Akira could now tell how he feels and what he thinks with ease. He immediately worked out a plan to save Kaneki and get the binge eater. He didn't even pause to think about it. Which is why she worries every time he hunts. She worked hard to give him a life, to get him to feel and it wouldn't take that much of a push to undo what she has done for her son. Yet, as much as would love to, she can't mummify him bubble wrap, lock him in a safe and keep far away from the world. Especially the world that he lived for the six years before he met her. The only thing she can do be there for him and make sure that he comes back to her.

She unlocked the driver's car door and got in. Once she started the engine, she shifted into gear and drove off. Heading home to get the things Marcus asked for.

* * *

It was Touka's night to help close up shop with their manager, and she was helping out with the dishes at the moment. If she wasn't slightly distracted. She's been like this since Marcus and Akira left several hours ago. She wondered if Akira truly had any intentions of not telling the CCG about Anteiku. It was her job to tell but with her adopted son being a ghoul, she might bring unwanted attention her direction, especially if she doesn't have any other way of proving Anteiku's existence other than Marcus. A good way to find out if the investigator would tell would to take the British ghoul's suggestion and talk to Yoshimura. Should she ask about the manager if he has a contact or just let it go? If he didn't have then the best they could do is wait and see. If he does then they could find out some valuable.

Having made up her mind, she turned Yoshimura who was wiping down the counters. "Excuse me, sir?"

The managed hummed to let her know he was paying attention.

"I was wondering how you know so much about the CCG movements." Touka wanted to fit in casual conversation to avoid him figuring out her real intentions.

Yoshimura stopped what he was doing and looked at her unnerving when his eyes are closed. "There's no need to beat around the bush, Touka. I'll talk to my informant about… Akira Mado was it?"

Touka was flabbergasted. "Uh… h – how?"

"I may seem old but my hearing is sharper than all of Anteiku combined." He said. "I should have the information in a day or two."

Touka nodded. "Thanks."

"As long as you think they're trustworthy." He reminded.

"I think they are." She answered. 'I hope they are, anyways.'

* * *

Marcus waited on a roof top across from the alley that Kaneki had stupidly followed Rize into. Did that boy have any form of common sense? Most likely not as he's been with the binge eater ever since they left the coffee. First it was an hour at Big Girl, where they and talked. Talking for an hour straight, Marcus couldn't see that happening but he could chalk that up to his lack of relationship experience. Following that they went to a nearby book store and spent a few more hours there, which made more sense to him. More content. They went to another restaurant for dinner and then Rize wanted the unsuspecting boy to walk her home leading them here.

Now, it was matter of waiting for the binge eater to be at her weakest, which we be the moment when she springs her trap and attacks Kaneki. It was going to be tricky, reaching the college student before he became dinner. Something he couldn't do, he wasn't fast enough. But Xeno was. 'Xeno, wake up.'

No response.

'Come on, you damn wanker, of all the times you choose to not annoy me to death, it has to be now. WAKE UP!"

The alt-personality still didn't stir. Marcus was about to make another attempt when a fearful scream emanated from the alley. It sounded like Kaneki.

'Listen you fucking idiot. I need you awake, _NOW_!"

Xeno still did not wake and a loud crash sounded.

'Didn't want to do this.' He lifted his head and slammed it against the roof.

A cry of pain sounded in his mind. ' **Son of a bitch! What in the fanny adams** * **is that for?!** '

'No time. There is two people that way.' He pointed in the direction of the alley. 'One male human, and one female ghoul. Kill the Ghoul, save the human.'

' **Why should I?** '

'If you don't, I'll O.D. on RC suppressants and starve you for three months.'

Xeno paused in thought. ' **Fine.** '

Marcus quickly switched places with Xeno, who immediately shifted to his kakuja form. His kagunes formed behind him, stretching out. Black ooze crawled up the back of his neck and over his scalp. After making it way to the forehead it molded and solidified itself into the carapace. His bikaku tails wrapped around his legs and extended out from his feet. The Koukakus laid themselves on his arms. More black ooze originating from the natural ghoul weapons, started covering his body, it hardened and morphed also. Completely forming into his full kakuja form. He leapt off the buildings and down the alley on all fours.

He passed the bag of books that spilled out all over the ground and they were covered. There was a blood trail but it was smeared by drag marks. There was knocked over steel grating that was used as a wall between the alley and the neighboring construction site. He ran in the direction until he found Rize in the middle of the construction yard commenting about Kaneki's physique, who's body that lay against the fence with a chunk of shoulder and stomach missing. As he charged towards her, a bunch of I beams fell from the crane above and crushed the female ghoul, nearly crushed Xeno.

After pausing, he crawled over the pile of I beams where Rize uttered her last words. "How… c – could…"

He rushed to Kaneki and listened. The wounded human's heartbeat was there but it was horribly faint, probably won't last another half hour. For some unknown reason, the human wasn't looking at Xeno. He was looking up instead but it didn't last long before he fell unconscious. Xeno followed Kaneki's line of sight to someone who was standing on the uncompleted building He wore a black suit with a brown and pink undershirt with a clown mask that had a hear on one cheek and the letter G around the eye in the other aside.

Xeno sniffed the air as he smelled a scent that he was smelled in while. Seven years to be exact. "Souta."

As if to confirm it, the familiar three red koukaku blades came out over his arm and he jumped down towards Xeno. The kakuja violently hissed and jumped straight up at him, leaping off the wall to close the distance. The No Eyed Demon spun around and swung with his rinkakus, attempting to cut through his opponent in half. Souta elegantly flipped over and planted his foot in the abnormal ghoul's face and used it as a springboard to jump on the pile of I beams. Hqving lost his momentum the Kakuja fell on the ground in front of Kaneki, landing on his feet. He spared a quick glance to see if the boy wasn't hurt anymore that he already was, which he wasn't, and turned back to Souta. Xeno was gonna have to move this fight away from the boy to keep him being hurt then he already is.

Souta kicked one of the I beams. "Looks like I got her good."

Xeno slowly began circling him "What's Aogiri doing here? "

The koukaku laughed. "Aogiri? I left those guys awhile ago. Too much doom gloom and absolute domination for me. I'm just looking for a quiet place to eat, like you."

Xeno got ready to pounce. However in the distance sirens started to sound and they were startling close.

"Well, that's my cue. Later." He jumped away, clearing the nearest building with identical ease that Xeno would

'... The hell?' Marcus commented

Xeno would've followed him but Marcus disagreed. 'No. As much as I would like that manky knob knocker to die. We were supposed to save Kaneki and we did. Unfortunately, this is turning out to be more of a waste of RC than I thought. Let's just go.'

'Just for that I get an extra day of sleep.'

'Fine.'

* * *

Xeno turned and left. Scaling the nearest building and distanced himself for a few blocks. Relinquished control back to Marcus, who waited for Akira to pick him up.

The next morning, in the 20th ward hospital, Kaneki sleeps.

 _I'm not the protagonist of a novel or anything…_

the beat monitor kept a steady, healthy beat

 _I'm a college student who likes to read books, like you can find anywhere_

The boy stirred.

 _But... if, for argument's sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role…_

His right eye cracked open.

 _It would most certainly be..._

Then it snapped completely open to reveal a Kakugan.

… _a tragedy._

* * *

 _ **Original version: 16 pages, with 4,863 words.**_

 _ **New version: 28 page, with 10,792 words.**_

 _ **After this point is where I'm deviating srightly from the original storyline of Xeno. Adding a few chapters between 'Of Rabbits and Eyepatches' and 'Old and New Friends'. Most of it will be fluff for the love birds and more interaction with the Anteiku staff. Similar thing will happen between 'Monochrome Kiss' and 'Old Wounds'.**_

 _ **Now, finals week is upon me. so possible chance of delay.**_

 _ **Now, please. Please review. I beg ye. They help more than one thinks. Please.**_


	4. The wolf joins the sheep

_**Holy crap this was more of a pain to get out than it should've been. Sorry for the long guys, I've been under some hardcore stress because of something insanely stupid. It had actually caused a serious impact on both my writing and my grades but I've gotten over it and my writing has been hitting an all time high lately.**_

 _ **So, enjoy, please.**_

* * *

It's been three days since the encounter with Rize and Souta. Despite Marcus' assurances that it was most likely random chance that they ran into the ex-Aogiri ghoul. That his business probably had nothing to do with Marcus and Akira. Nonetheless, it has Akira worried, to point to where she got little sleep over the past few days. Old nightmares that she thought she had locked away. The investigator knows that she's stressing needlessly, and that she needs to put it in the back of her mind. There's more important things to focus on. Like her son going to his first job interview. Akira pulled her car up beside Anteiku. She couldn't stay here long, lest she be towed. The parking laws are ridiculous.

Marcus was in the passenger seat, dressed in black slacks, and vest with a dress shirt. He bouncing his leg, so much that his entire seat was shaking. He was nervous, just like any other average teenager at their first interview. Actually, he was higher strung than that. He also was most likely was gonna have to talk to Touka. A girl, who, as far as he was concerned, most likely had a plan for his silent murder, planned somewhere in the depths of her mind. Then there was Xeno who's wide awake to add his helpful comments to the mix.

Akira noticed the agitated state the kakuja was in and attempted to alleviate the worry. "Don't worry. If what we hear about Anteiku is right then they have no reason to deny you."

"What if they find out I'm Xeno? What do I do then?" He responded. A response that was irrational as they had already discussed the likelihood of that happening.

The Homo sapiens felt it necessary to remind him of that. "We already discussed that. The twentieth ward is too quiet predation wise to attract him, and he's never been seen our side the fourth ward. They would have no reason to look or even wonder about him being their ward. If anything, they're more worried about your connection to CCG."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. You're right."

Akira gently grabbed him by the head and pressed his fore head against hers. "Listen, you got this. You used to take on the toughest ghouls in the fourth ward on a daily basis. Something like a job interview should be easier."

Marcus nodded, his confidence building.

Akira smiled and said in a joking tone. "Good. Now, get going before I get a parking ticket."

Marcus rolled his eyes as he replied sarcastically. "Love you too, _Mom_."

"And I love you." Akira kissed him on the fore head and let him go. "See you this evening."

Marcus nodded and got out of the car. "Here's hoping."

Akira gave him a thumbs up, which the ghoul returned as he closed the door. Akira waited for her son to walk up the stairs and get to the shop door, before she put the car into gear and started the drive to the 1st ward office. As the distance grew between the investigator and the shop, she felt tears start to run down her cheeks. Of course, now she finally broke down. It was ironic actually. Marcus was always the clingy and protective one. When she first started sheltering the British Ghoul, it was hard to go out without him attempting to follow her, let alone go to the academy. Now, she's getting all teary-eyed just over him getting a job. Imagine when he went to college, she might not let him go. She wiped her eyes trying to compose herself before she got to work. Last thing she needed was her fellow employees asking why the composed Warden Akira was crying. Somehow, she knew that 'cutting onions' wasn't gonna bean acceptable answer.

Marcus watched his step-mother disappear into the distance, silently worrying if she was going to be alright. He knows that she didn't get much sleep which might affect her work. Then again, if Akira knew what he was thinking, she berate him and tell that he should be focusing on the task at hand. He sighed and continued to walk up the steps until he reached the door. Marcus pulled and tugged at the vest of the outfit he was wearing, trying to straighten it. A simple dress outfit that consisted of black slacks, vest and a white dress shirt. It was obvious, even to him, that he was stalling to go inside.

' **Suck it up. Just go inside already. Bloody Idiot.** ' Xeno chastised.

"Yes, thank you for the advice." Marcus sighed in annoyance. Although, it was insanely good advice.

He opened the door and stepped inside. Anteiku seemed unusually empty, especially this early in the morning. Corporate workers hoping to grab a quick cup of coffee, and wake to a little more before they start their slow tedious day at whatever job they have. There was only two or three customers in the entirety of the shop. So the employees of the shop looked like they were having a relatively easy day.

Two of them were sitting on the high chairs at the counter, both drinking cups of coffee. One was a woman in her thirties, she had long, parted black hair with brown eyes. She wore a black pencil skirt and stockings, with a white button-down shirt. Next to her is a heavyset man with light brown hair and similar colored eyes. His clothing matched Marcus', except he had a bow tie. They holding a conversation with none other than Touka, who was wearing the same work clothes as she did the day he met her. Marcus walked over a seat a couple of stools down. He waited patiently for somebody to take notice of him.

The older female employee noticed that Touka watch Marcus take his seat but not serve him. "Touka, there's a customer waiting."

"I saw." She said sharply, with a bloodcurdling glare sent the kukuja's way. "Your point?"

"You have to do your job or else…" Koma, the light haired ghoul said in a joking yet ominous tone. "…you may be fired."

Irimi gave him an exasperated look before elbowing him. He shrugged in response. She rolled her eyes before asking the purple haired girl. "He's the boy from before, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

Irimi nodded in understanding. "Listen, I know that you don't trust him because he's with the investigator."

Touka scoffed. "That's an understatement."

Irimi sighed disappointedly. "But I ask that you at least listen to his side of the story not just the side it appears to be. You may be surprised at what you hear."

"I…" Touka paused, considered her friend's advice. "I'll try to keep an open mind."

"Good." The other female employee complimented. "Now go talk to him."

"But…!"

"Go!"

Touka started grumbling, annoyed as she walked towards the British boy. He was on his touchscreen phone reading what looked like manga. She fixed her hair that had shifted from the left side of her face back to its rightful spot. "Why are you here?" Touka asked tersely.

"Well, good morning to you too." Marcus greeted as he locked the phone and put it in his pocket. "I've heard a lot about you guys, Anteiku, and what you guys do for this ward."

Touka raised an eyebrow and said in skeptical manner. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Marcus answered. "I also heard that you help those who can't… find food themselves."

Touka nodded cautiously, hoping he wasn't gonna suggest what she thought he was gonna suggest.

"You know my situation, if I get caught, it would mean trouble for both me and mom. So I was wondering if you would help me with acquiring something to eat and I would pay you back by working in the shop."

Touka scoffed. "I don't know what you thought was gonna happen but we don't give jobs to any who walks up and asks."

"I'm not quite sure about that." Said a voice from beside Touka. Both ghoul teenagers looked over to see the Anteiku manager Yoshimura standing right next to the violet haired ghoul and neither of the younger ghouls saw or heard him walk up.

Touka jumped slightly. "Manager. Where did you come from?"

Marcus stared at the elder man in surprise. 'How did he…? I didn't even see him until now. Let alone hear him.'

' **Neither could I. And I was paying more attention.** ' Xeno commented.

'And what does that mean?'

Xeno scoffed. ' **Other than you're so oblivious to your surroundings an eight year old human could sneak upon you.** '

'Hey.' Marcus exclaimed indignantly.

' **It also means that we should be wary of him. He may be stronger than he looks.** ' Xeno continued, ignoring Marcus.

'Good point.'

Yoshimura placed a placating hand on Touka's shoulder. "We should at least allow him the chance of an interview."

Touka opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. "Yes, sir." Irimi had said that she should listen to whatever the British ghoul had to say. Perhaps this is the best way.

Yoshimura gave a faint smile and gestured to Marcus. "Good. If you would please come this way."

"Sure."

Yoshimura walked to the door that was placed behind the counter as Marcus stood up and walked around the same counter to follow the elder ghoul. The manager stopped beside the door and waited there for the Brit. Touka watched the younger male walk through the opening in the counter and move towards Yoshimura. Before the elder Japanese ghoul could reach for the door handle, Marcus made it there first. He opened the door and held it open. Gesturing to for the old man to go through first, to which Yoshimura nodded his thanks.

Together they stepped through and Marcus closed the door behind them. The door led to a staircase that led to a second floor and there was a hallway to the right. With two or three doors that most likely led to a kitchen and a few store rooms. Yoshimura walked past it and up the stairs with Marcus in tow. The stairs were linked to a hallway that was lined with more doors and the elder ghoul opened and walked in the nearest one on the right. The kakuja followed him into some kind of waiting room or possibly a meeting room. There was two couches and two chairs situated around a coffee table with each type of furniture sitting across from its partner. There was a pair of potted plants in the back corners of the room and a bookcase on the side wall.

Yoshimura held out a hand to the furniture. "Please take a seat." Marcus did, taking one of the chairs with the older ghoul sitting in the other chair. "As you can imagine, this isn't gonna be like a normal interview. Actually, it's not that much of an interview really. Just a few questions about your hunting habits."

"I've been living with an investigator." Marcus commented. "Don't really have a lot of hunting habits."

"I don't know about that. You did hunt. Just not humans." Yoshimura said. Marcus gave him a wary look as the elder ghoul opened his eyes slightly revealing the red and black of Kakugans. "Isn't that right, Xeno?"

Marcus frowned. "How do you know?"

"It's not easy to forget the scent of the only ghoul able to come close to killing me."

'Hey. Did you ever forget to kill someone or miss? Perhaps leave someone alive?' Marcus asked the voice in his head.

' **Do you even have to ask?** ' Xeno growled. ' **I don't leave any witnesses or survivors.** '

'Not according to him.'

Yoshimura noticed Marcus' pause and explained. "Yes, it was many years ago when we met, so you were young and you may have forgotten. I found you, close to ten years ago, when you were beginning to building your reputation as the No Eyed Demon. You were attempting to take the eleventh ward as your hunting grounds. I was in the area at that time, so you directly challenged me."

' **I think I know what he's talking about.** ' Xeno said.

Marcus retorted. 'So do I, but I don't remember even meeting him.'

' **We did. He just didn't look like that.** '

Slowly the pieces started to fall together, until Marcus realized whom he was talking to. Xeno had interacted with only one ghoul when they entered the eleventh ward. The reason they went, wasn't for the local hunting territories. Xenu had already decided to claim the fourth ward as his own. However, they were sidetracked to the eleventh when they caught wind of a ghoul that piqued their interest. The ghoul had been and has been giving CCG hell for years and was regarded as the strongest ghoul in Tokyo. Xeno was feeling ambitious and had attempted to battle the ghoul for the top spot. It was a really stupid decision and they nearly died that night. Thankfully, their opponent had approved of Xeno's combat ability and his determination, and chose to let them live.

And Marcus was having a job interview with him.

'Well, shit.'

' **Doesn't even begin to cover our situation.** '

Unfortunately, Marcus' face bore the 'oh shit' look, and had revealed to Yoshimura that he had remembered. "Now, before you panic and create a misunderstanding, be aware that you are not in any danger unless you prove to be a danger yourself."

Marcus paused for a few seconds to process what the elder ghoul said before saying. "Okay… that's understandable"

"Good." Yoshimura affirmed. "Now that there are no secrets between us, we can get back to business. There's no issues with you joining us, here at Anteiku."

"Except with me, being me."

"Well, yes." Agreed Yoshimura. "To put it simply, I'm not entirely sure I can trust you."

"Given our history and my reputation that understandable." Marcus leaned forward and looked into Yoshimura eyes with partial insult. "However, I am here because I'm trying to repay someone who gave me a life worth living. So I don't give a damn what you think of me, just let me do that much."

Yoshimura met Marcus' determined stare with a studying look. The eyes are the windows to the soul is a common saying, but the older man believes that it applies more to ghouls than humans as kakugans reveal their true nature. The Owl had looked into the other kakuja's eyes when they first met. What he saw then were two souls, one was black, made of pure instinct that wanted nothing more to hunt and kill while the other one was ice cold and emotionally blind to everything the other soul did. Looking into Marcus' eyes now, the manager could swear he was looking at someone else. A fiery passionate soul stared back, determinate. He had changed.

Yoshimura smiled softly. "You've changed and in a good way. Stay like this, and you can work here."

Marcus' eyes glimmered as his face brightened with near child like glee. "Really?" He asked incredulously.

The older ghoul sharply raised a finger to halt anymore comments from Brit. "One thing, understand that if you slip up and hurt my employees in any way, by the time you realize that made a mistake your head will be on the ground."

"I can take that."

"Good," Yoshimura nodded, "Now then, let's see if we can't teach you how to make a good cup of coffee."

* * *

Akira was sitting at her desk in the first ward office and she was doing nothing more than paperwork. Working under Arima Kishou is supposed to be one of the greatest honors in the ward. Akira can attest otherwise. Over eighty percent of the work she has done since her assignment to this squad has been nothing more than paperwork. People call her the solo player when, honestly, it's the 'CCG's Reaper' who is far more deserving of that. Any cases that did merit enough danger to reach their level Arima chose to do on his own and occasionally, he might bring someone along. In a rare incidence, he might pass a random case down to his subordinates but that is even rarer. Thankfully, Arima seems to hold her in high regard or that's what it appeared to be as she gets twice the amount of cases from the ace investigator than the rest of her teammates. Even so, she still has those slow days where she's doing nothing where she's doing nothing but sitting at her desk.

And today was one of those days.

Akira sighed, bored, as she scanned through a google search she did on her phone for local manga shops where she could buy _Attack on Titan_ manga for Marcus. She was also looking for the publication dates while she was at it. Usually, it was Marcus who did all this, however she still owns him that years' worth of manga.

"Hey, Akira!" Called a voice from behind her. She turned her desk chair to see her father, Kureo Mado and his partner step off the elevator and start walking toward her.

The elder Mado was wearing the same exact white trench coat outfit that he always was wearing with his quinque case in his right hand. It wasn't surprising to Akira as he had ten more sets of the same exact style of clothing. Kureo's partner however, left more of an impression. The first thing Akira took not note of as the two male investigators sidled up, was the titan-like height he had. Akira found herself straining her neck to look up at his features, it also didn't help she was sitting down. He was handsome, with a chiseled jawline and firm features. He had teal eyes and short black hair. It was hard to see because his hair was in the way but his eyebrows curled downward at the ends. He bore a serious, business-like expression on his face. He had a black business suit on and a silver cross around his neck. This must've been the infamous Amon Koutarou that her father was talking about. According to him, Amon's supposed to be clever. She would have to be the judge of that.

"Hello, father." She greeted.

Amon turned to his partner and said. "I didn't realize that you had a daughter, Mr. Mado."

Kureo lightly laughed, "Ah, yes. I've yet to actually formally introduce you. Akira, this is Amon. Amon, Akira."

Amon stepped toward and offered his hand in a formal greeting. "Rank one investigator Amon Koutarou. Pleasure to meet you."

"Rank two Akira Mado." The female investigators shook his hand. "Father's told me a lot about you."

"Most of it good, I hope."

"It is." Akira affirmed. "Actually, there are some days where it almost seems like he praises you."

Mr. Mado laughed, "Please, Akira. You're gonna make me blush."

Akira smiled in amusement before turning back to her phone. Scrolling through a News site on her topic, hoping to find what she was looking for.

Curious, Amon peeked over her shoulder, an easy feat given his massive height. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that the article was about Attack on Titan. And before he realized it, "Didn't think that you were into that." He put his foot into his mouth. As he said it, he knew…

He fucked up.

Akira tilted back in her office chair until she was looking up at with him with eyebrows raised. Suddenly, she smirked mischievously, "A bit rude of you, to assume something about someone you just met. Especially of a woman."

The Rank 1 investigator sputtered as he tried and failed to explain himself. "I - It's just that… uh… you're in Arima's squad… and that…"

"I'm supposed to act serious and 'grown-up'."

"Yes. Wait. No. I meant…"

Despite her thorough enjoyment of his Fuex – Paux, Akira chose to spare him his torment. "You can relax, I was just messing with you. This is for a friend."

Amon froze at her words then closed his mouth, his face bright red, nodding. Kureo was tittering in the background. During his laughter, something shifted in his coat pocket, reminding him he had something for his daughter.

"Oh, by the way." The First class investigator reached into the inner coat pocket of his suit and pulled out a sealed envelope. "I had stopped by the lab on my way up here and the test results were ready."

Akira took the envelope from her father's outstretched hand. Tearing the seal off, she pulled out a wad of folded papers and a few pictures. The pictures were of the CAT scan that was performed on Marcus. Since she didn't really understand how to read them, they were set gently back in the envelope. Akira glanced through the papers, each of them detailing the results of the tests earlier this week. It was just like Chigyou said, not a whole changed this year. Marcus did grow slightly stronger by that may be due to exercise, the same for his reflexes. The only things that are note worthy were massive changes to his physical stats or changes to his kagune. A good example would the acidic blood that was recently acquired. Which is apparently formed from RC cells taking on the properties of hydrochloric acid.

Nodding, she folded the papers back up and returned them to the envelope, putting it her coat pocket. "Thanks, I'll take it down later."

"Would you mind if we come with you? Since we're in the twentieth ward anyways."

Akira turned sharply towards her father and stared at him with a level look. Kureo stared back with that manic grin of his. Amon simply and wisely chose to stay quiet in all this. He didn't want to ask about the tests, mainly because it sounded medical in origin and he didn't want to accidentally dredge up something they didn't feel like talking about. The sudden animosity in the room between the father and the daughter at the mere mention of Amon and Kureo accompanying her to where ever she was going to deliver the results was another reason to stay out. It was obviously a bit of a touchy subject and he had a feeling that it most likely because of his presence. Akira most likely wanted to keep whatever was going on inside the family while Kureo felt otherwise and was attempting underhanded techniques to get it out.

"Hey, listen." Amon interjected, gain the attention of the Mado family. "If you got something that needs to be without me there, that's fine. I can just head back down to the twentieth ward office and get some more paperwork done."

Akira looked at him in silent surprise and reevaluated her impression of Amon. He was able to quickly understand the situation with little evidence and was kind enough not to pry, event going as to offer privacy. It was actually kind of sweet of him.

Akira nodded with a small smile gracing her face, "Thank you."

"Sure." Amon replied.

Kureo looked slightly perturbed that his plan to get CCG to be aware of Marcus' existence was shot down by Amon's soft heartedness. Sighing in defeat, he said. "Come on, Amon, we still have that string to keep tugging." The older investigator turned and walked back towards the elevator

Koutarou answered, ignoring Akira's eyeroll at the metaphor and her father's near child-like behavior, as he followed the possibly insane investigator. "Of course, Mr. Mado."

Akira waved after the younger male as they stepped in the elevator that was still there from they came up in the first place. "Nice meeting you."

"You too." Amon returned the wave through the closing elevator doors.

After a few moments, she sighed heavily and rubbed her forefinger and thumb against her forehead to quell the headache that was forming. This wasn't that first time her father attempted to get Marcus discovered and probably won't be the last time. However, this was the most direct try. It was actually kind of reckless of him. If Marcus' existence was brought to light to the CCG in the wrong way, it would become apparent to them that he was an accomplice to a ghoul and he would be executed as well. Which is why he needs to be more careful about how he goes about it. It's also the only reason why the CCG don't know of her son yet. Speaking of which, she looked at the time.

10:45.

It would probably be best for her to take it down during lunch time.

* * *

"Wow!" Exclaimed a light haired female youth. She leaned over and sniffed the macchiato that was placed in front of her. She blushed and moaned. "It smells good!"

"Well please." Marcus said while smiling warmly. "Drink to your heart's content." He stood there with a food serving tray underneath his arm.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Don't mind if I do!"

She took up the cup of coffee and drank it, only to end up burning her tongue. "Ow, ow, ow!" She gently set down the drink to nurse her injured muscle.

"You alright, Miss?" Marcus leaned in close to see if she's hurt.

"Yeah, I-" She froze when she noticed how close the ghoul was. A few more inches and they'd be kissing. She blushed. "I-I'll be fine."

Marcus sighed in relief as he straightened. "That's good. Well, enjoy your drink."

The teenage girl watched him as he walked back towards the counter. 'He's cute.'

Marcus listened to various exclamations from different customers as they tried his coffee. All of them positive, some extremely positive. He placed the serving tray on the stand by the door where all the other trays were stacked. Walking behind the counter and past Touka who was attempting to set him aflame with her intense and hate filled glare. Having received more terrifying looks from his mother, he ignored it and continued to proceed with making another pot of hot water.

Five hours. It only took him five hours to already start making a name for himself here at Anteiku. He's started to become extremely popular especially amongst the younger female crowd. And it was honestly starting to piss Touka off. She was trying to honor the promise she made to Irimi and give the guy a chance but after he just strolls on in here, asks for a job, gets it! Then proceeds to steal her thunder! Lots of customers used to come in her and ask for her Latte's because she did good Latte art, but the requests have all but halved since he started. The violet haired ghoul is usually not the jealous type of girl and she would vehemently deny it but she is envious.

"He's doing pretty good for his first day, isn't he?" Irimi asked she walked past Touka to deliver dishes to Koma.

Touka scoffed. "Spectacularly."

The older woman giggled as stepped beside the teenage girl. "No need to be mean. It only makes sense. If he knows how to judge a good cup of coffee, then he would know how to make a good cup of coffee."

Touka pouted. "Yeah, I guess."

Irimi quirked an eyebrow at the younger ghoul's child-like behavior. Her eyes then glinted with mischief and she leaned closer to the teenager. "Or could it be you're jealous that he's stealing your thunder?"

The young women twisted here head around to look at Irimi ludicrously, even though she was dead-on. "What?! No! No way in hell I'm jealous of him!"

"Ya sure about that?" Marcus said as he walked behind them to grab a container of coffee beans off the shelf.

Touka froze and turned beet red as she realized he heard the entire conversation. She turned sharply to face him, crossing her arms. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Eavesdropping on private conversations?"

With the jar of coffee in hand, he faced Touka with a dead pan expression. "A conversation would have to be private first before I can eavesdrop." He casually pointed behind Touka where there was a pair of customers sitting on the bar stools watching with great amusement. So we're the customers sitting at the tables not ten feet behind them.

The violet eyed girl stared at them in horror? Had they been listening in the whole time? She became so red from anger and embarrassment she would have get her skin color legally changed to red as ketchup. Her head snapped to Marcus to see that he bore nearly imperceptive smirk on his face, only serving to make her more anger thus more flustered.

By this point, Touka could barely form sentences. Yet she still felt the need to express her anger. "I… you… idiot!" She storms off into the back kitchen and out of sight, to fume in private.

Xeno dryly commented. " **Thy name is tsundere.** "

One of the guys sitting on the barstools chortled. "If only I could deal with my coworkers the same way."

"Right?!" Shouted the man beside him before laughing.

Marcus ignored them and resumed his original task. Replacing one of the empty jars on the counter with a full one. Once he was done with that, he started wiping down some of the clean dishes that were sitting in the washer. He actually hadn't meant to be that dry and mean with Touka, but people who take up insult with him because of his natural abilities has always rubbed him the wrong way. Touka probably didn't mean anything by it, after all he was technically encroaching on her territory. While she wasn't the alpha female, she was the most desired for her coffee. Now, he was intruding and more or less was stealing her customers. He may have understand why she was mad, he didn't have to like it. Nonetheless, that didn't excuse his behavior and he should apologize.

The doorbell jingled as his mother walked in with her Quinque case in her hand. Everyone, both human and ghoul, tensed up at the sight of the abnormal weapon. Seeing a CCG investigator with their Quinque is generally associated with seeing a group of police officers looking to make an arrest. They're expecting something to go down and are planning on getting out as soon as they can. Marcus had talked to Akira about refraining from bringing it inside the shop. However, just like being an officer, any on-duty investigators are required to carry their weapons on them at all times when outside the Ward Offices. So, unfortunately she couldn't do much.

"Hello, Newt." Akira calling him by a nickname she rarely used. Sitting down at one of the stools in front of him, setting down the attaché case next to the piece of furniture.

He blushed in embarrassment. "Please don't call me that."

"Why not? It's such a cute name and it fits so perfectly." Akira replied, beaming.

"Mom!" Marcus complained, exasperatedly.

"I'm just kidding." She reached out a hand and ruffled his hair causing him to groan. "I see that you have a new job."

Marcus attempted rearrange his messed up hair even though it really wasn't arranged in the first place. "Yeah."

"How are you doing so far?"

"Fine." Was the vague answer.

Which was true, typical, Marcus fashion. Despite his rather peppy attitude, he's actually kind of introverted. Remnants of his once cold and emotionless personality. It probably doesn't that he feels isolated because of the way his body is. He feels that he really can't connect with anyone. One of the many results of this, is that he doesn't really like answering questions about what he did during the day. Which Akira really didn't mind, he didn't do a whole lot in the first place. But she had wanted heard what he did today. Call it her right to know as a mother.

"Come on." She begged childishly. "Tell me more. Or I'll call you Newt again."

Marcus sighed uncomfortably. "Well. To start with, the manager knows me."

Akira looked slightly surprised. "Really? How?"

Marcus thought about telling that he was Owl but he knew that it was Owl who killed her mother. Something he would have to clear up with the old man but fir now he would have to lie to Akira until he knew. "He beat me. Simple as that."

"Ah. What else?"

Marcus hesitated. "I… I may have been smart with Touka."

Akira sighed, a bit disappointed. "You just met her. Don't start secluding yourself now."

"I know. I know. I'm gonna apologize. I promise."

"I know you will." Akira smiled softly be fore changing the topic. "So, I have something for you."

She pulled out the envelope containing his medical information and handed it him. "These are the results. I only took a glance. I was hoping you would take a better look and we could discuss it at home."

"Sure." He replied taking the envelope.

Akira nodded. "Listen, I gotta get going if I wanna make it back to the office and have something to eat. See you later and be safe."

Marcus smirked. "Back at you."

Akira stood up, picking up her suitcase and left the shop with a short wave goodbye. Just like when she had arrived, the atmosphere in the shop changed but for the better. The tension had left and everyone seemed more at ease. It did lessen slightly when they realized that the investigator wasn't here because of a ghoul presence. But it was still there so the change was quite drastic.

"Hey, Koma!" Marcus called out. "You two got things out here? I gotta look at this."

The ghoul in question waved at him. "Don't take too long. Oh, if you see Touka, see if you can't get her back out here."

"Sure."

With the envelope in question in hand, he walked to the back door that lead to the kitchen and stepped through it. He turned right, away from the stairs in front of him and towards the kitchen. Actually, calling it a kitchen is overcomplicating it's purpose. It's more like a storage slash preparation area. It is bit of a spacious room even with it's content's. There were two large rectangular tables in the middle that had no specific purpose than whatever was required of them. Lining the wall closest to him were cabinets filled with jars upon jars of coffee beans of various brews and brands. At the adjoining wall beside it was the employee wash area and the wall next to that had the cold storage area. Fridge, freezer, deep freeze, etc. Marcus chose to lean against one of tables as he opened envelope and began to read the contents unaware that he wasn't alone.

* * *

After being thoroughly embarrassed by the infuriating Brit, Touka ran straight upstairs and to her room. There she plopped on her bed, face first, and attempted to control her anger and embarrassment, which may or may not have included screaming into her pillows. Unfortunately, every time she was able to calm down, she would end up riling herself up again. Her thought would stray back to what happened downstairs and she would end being flustered all over again. Albeit for entirely different reasons. She realizes that perhaps she had acted like a bratty six year old. However, she also believes that Marcus didn't have to be so rude in his response. Yet… now that she thought about it, was there any other way to respond after she had been just as rude, if not more so.

She sighed and mused about apologizing to him only dismiss that thought and shook her head to clear out any similar thoughts. "No way! I'm not gonna apologize that bastard!"

In the distance, Touka heard a door open and close, reminding her she should probably return to her job before Yoshimura actually does fire her.

She crawled out of here bed, taking a moment to straighten her clothing that had been messed up in the midst of her fit, and stepped out of her room. She turned left and moved towards the stairs to walk down them. As she neared the floor where the shop was located, she heard a voice talking.

"Nothing new really."

It was Marcus. Touka took a few more silent steps to reach the bottom so she could listen in more closely.

' **RC count is still in the twelve thousands.** ' Xeno said.

Marcus added. "Actually, it's twelve thousand seventy-eight. Sixty more than last year.

Touka's eyes widened in surprise. 'Twelve thousand! How?! It's impossible! And what's with the way he's taking? Is he talking to himself?'

' **We didn't eat the night before, last year! You fucking idiot!** '

"I know. I'm messing with you."

' **Asshole.** '

"Madman."

' **Thank you.** '

"Piss off."

Marcus felt his alt-personality's overall smugness who chose to finally shut up. Much to Marcus' gratification. It may seem like Xeno is way too much trouble than what he's worth but he's actually a great help. Marcus' isn't afraid to admit that he can be at times really oblivious to his surroundings. That's where Xeno came in. When he's not sleeping off a hunting night, Xeno is just sitting in a random corner of Marcus' mind playing commentator. As part of his natural predator instinct, he is constantly paying full attention to his surroundings so if Marcus missed something, he would pick up the slack. Also, if Xeno focused, he could act like a pseudo motion tracker, no where as advanced as the fictional device but still worked. Besides, when he's the only person who really acted like a parental figure for the start of your life, you learn to cope.

Marcus continued to flip through the medical papers that more or less spoke of things he already knew. His reaction speed, strength, etc. The only thing of any real interest was the bit about the acid. That looked fun. As he turned another page, a folded piece of paper fell to the floor. Marcus looked it curiously. Setting the other papers on the table, he bent down and picked it up. Written on it was a lazy cursive scrawl reading ' _For Marcus only_ '. Unfolding it revealed an entire page's worth of the lazy cursive scrawl, obviously from Dr. Chigyou. It contents were this:

 _Hey kid,_

 _Listen, I wrote this specifically to you knowing that your mother would not let. It would actually be better if you told her anyways. She'd be more willing to listen to you and be less inclined to kill you than me._

 _Anyways, I was analyzing your blood, searching for the reason why you have acid blood now and not a year ago. And that's when I found it. It was so small and minor of a change, I would've missed it if I wasn't looking for it. I compared DNA from your most recent blood draw to a scan from last year. To put things in simple terms a apart of your DNA sequence awakened._

 _Don't know if you know this, but when Butterflies are in their Caterpillar stage, a portion of their DNA are dormant and when they go into the chrysalis stage, the strand awakens and out comes a butterfly with it's full DNA. Something similar may be happening here. Just not as drastically, not yet, at least. I don't know what this means for both you and Xeno. Nor do I know what will change. All I can say is, keep a look out._

 _Good luck_

After finishing the note, Marcus' hands dropped to his sides, still holding to the note. A numbed yet shocked and expression on his face. "Bloody hell."

' **Damn straight.** '

"Were you aware of this?"

' **Not a fucking clue.'**

Touka heard the surprise in his voice as well as his heart rate increase slightly. She had been listening in long enough The female ghoul felt she needed to have a talk with her manager. She didn't know why Marcus was talking to himself but if he is insane, Yoshimura needs to know. The last thing Anteiku needs, is a psychotic ghoul thinking he's safe from Anteiku's wrath because he's working with them and starts a killing spree. If that was the case then she also didn't need Marcus to know because he might react violently. So, for now she would have to play ignorant.

She started walking towards the kitchen, making her steps heavier in order to make them louder. Allowing Marcus to hear her walk up. As she walking the kitchen, she pretended to notice he was there and be perturbed that he was sitting there instead of working. "What are you doing? Get off your ass and get back to work!"

"Sorry, Mom dropped off some paperwork that I needed to read." Marcus folded up Chigyou's note and put it in the envelope as well as the other papers. Then he stuck it in his pocket.

Touka scoffed. "And? That gives you an excuse? Get moving!"

Marcus clicked his boots together, stood up straight, and placed his right fist over his heart, facing up with his other hand behind his back. "Yes, Ma'am."

Touka sent a level look at him, he just responded with a closed-eye grin. She sighed annoyingly. "Just get going, you idiot."

Dropping the salute, he walked towards the hallway to leave the kitchen. Before exiting, he placed a hand on the corner to stop himself, turning to Touka he said. "Hey. I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have been so snappy."

Touka looked kinda startled at his apology, she avoided his apologetic gaze. "I… I… uh…I – I'm sor –"

She looked up back towards Marcus to see that he was already gone. He shouted from the hallway. "Come on! Koma and Irimi can't hold off the masses forever! For the glory of coffee!"

Touka took a few moments to process that what just happened did happen before chasing after him. Not ten seconds after she got there, one of the biggest rushes Touka's seen, hit the coffee shop. They were busy from lunch all the way to closing. Not that it really worried Touka and the other members of the Anteiku, they've had random rushes before. If they were concerned about something it was that this was Marcus' first rush and rightly so. The Brit may have doing good earlier, but he was starting to mess up orders. Yoshimura was considering having the black haired ghoul sit on the sidelines. However, in sudden turn of events, he improved, instantly. Yoshimura was the fastest when it came handling a rush and Marcus was going nearly his speed. To Touka it looked like something out of those food Anime. He moved near grace and precision, and his timing was insanely fast. Reaching for the hot water two seconds before it was done, pouring the coffee nearly at the same time that Touka or another employee set one down. Touka had also noticed a slight increase for her Frappe art, and they come every customer Marcus visited. Eventually closing time came and the customers filed out, finally giving them some piece and quiet.

* * *

Marcus tiredly stumbled over to one of the tables and plopped down in one of the seats. Leaning his head back, he exhaled. "Holy crap."

' **Quit overreacting. It wasn't that bad.** ' Xeno scoffed.

Marcus growled mentally, aware of his audience this time. 'Yeah, 'cause you weren't actually doing anything!'

' **Oh?** ' Xeno said in mock disbelief. ' **You're gonna deny that I helped with the timing and remembering the order? How mean!** '

If Marcus could glare at him, he would. 'Have I ever told you are an arsehole?'

' **Every day.** '

The clinking of ceramic against a table brought him out of his internal dialogue. He looked down to see Irimi set down a cup of coffee in front of him. She smiled at the teenager. "This is for doing really good job on your first day. Especially during that rush. I was worried there for a second."

Koma said from behind the counter where he was willing down the last of the dishes. "I almost thought Yoshimura was gonna have to pull you out. I didn't know if you could handle it any longer. Then it was like you had transformed. You were kicking ass there! Ain't that right Touka?"

Touka looked around shocked before answering, a tad bit sourly. "Yeah, I guess so."

Marcus formed a faint smile. "Thanks."

Irimi nodded and returned to the counter to help in the clean-up. Marcus picked up the coffee cup on the table and blew on the dark liquid inside to cool it down, he then took a sip. As he expected it was good. The flavor wasn't too strong or weak, actually it was smooth with a kind of sweet taste to it. It had a relaxing effect to it. It was the kind of coffee that you drink while curled next to your girlfriend underneath a blanket beside a lit fireplace. Marcus sighed contently and settled into his chair. His moment of bliss was interrupted by the outside world.

"Who's closing up shop today?" Touka asked. "I didn't get a chance to look at the board."

It was Yoshimura who answered. "It was supposed to be you and Irimi, however, in light our new employee. I think it should be you and Marcus."

Touka nodded. "Sure."

"Kay." Affirmed Marcus.

"All right then. We'll leave it to you and retire for the night. "

The three oldest members of Anteiku filed out through the back door. Touka rushed out after Yoshimura, eager to talk about her concerns with Marcus. Marcus simply sat there, watching as they left him alone, the door closing quietly behind them.

'I think we just got ditched.'

' **Yep.** '

'Don't care. Just gonna sit and drink my coffee.'

' **Yep.** '

"Yoshimura!" Touka called out.

The older gentleman in question paused at the top of the stairs to look at her. "Yes?"

"Can we talk in private?"

"Of course."

The kakuja waited patiently for the female ghoul to run up the stairs before leading her to the meeting room. The same one where Marcus had received his first job interview. Immediately upon entering the room, Yoshimura sat down in the same seat he did last time. Touka chose to remain standing, a clear sign she was agitated. She when something was really concerning her, she would refuse to sit down, some times she would start pacing. If Yoshimura was a betting man and he isn't, he would place money on that Marcus was the source of her strife.

Touka broke the silence that had permeated the room. "Earlier today, I saw Marcus alone in the kitchen, reading the paper work his investigator friend brought him. And I thought I heard him talking to himself as though someone else was there."

Yoshimura made sure that the shock didn't reach his face. Yoshimura always wondered. When he first met Marcus, he was animalistic in personality but now he seemed tamed. Maybe too tamed. It may have been close to a decade since that night but Xeno sightings are still being reported in the fourth ward. And the savagery of his kills haven't lightened at all. This gap in logic could easily be filled if he did have another personality. It's not well known, but many Kakujas suffered from Multiple personalities. The reason being it was the mind's way of dealing with atrocities they committed. However if this was the case then this alt personality would have to have been there since he was child. Yoshimura would have to discuss this with Marcus, but on the boy's on time. When he feels up to it, Yoshimura will listen.

For now though, he'll help keep it a secret. He laughed. "My apologies, I had meant to tell you. Don't be concerned. He's autistic."

"What?" Touka exclaimed.

Yoshimura didn't know much about that particular subject but he had dabbled in that area when they had boarded an autistic ghoul a few years back. He knew enough to create a believable lie for Touka. "Some Autistic kids will talk to themselves to help process new information. So it may seem like insanity but it's really quite harmless."

Touka could only say, "Oh." She honestly felt like a jerk. More so than she did before. She didn't want to bring up her other concern now.

"Don't feel bad." Yoshimura assured her. "It was a legitimate worry. Insane ghouls are something that should be watched for and Anteiku doesn't need one among its staff."

"Thank you, but it's not my only concern." Touka crossed her arms. "I had also heard him say he had an RC count of over twelve thousand."

Yoshimura hummed in thought. It made sense. All Xeno predations were on ghouls only and Kakujas did have high RC counts for the ghoul flesh they were devouring. It did seem high, but he has been most likely killing and eating ghouls his whole life. It was something that was not the Owl's place to tell. "That is something you will have to ask him yourself."

Touka nodded. "Okay."

"Don't be too forward about it." He warned. "It's not a past he's too proud of. You understand."

"Yeah." She said, somberly. "I do."

"Good." Yoshimura smiled. "Now, you should probably get going before he starts thinking he was ditched."

The female ghoul clicked her tongue. "Like I care what he thinks."

Despite her statement, she turned and left, muttering a thanks as she closed the door. Yoshimura sighed. "That pride will be the death of her."

Touka strolled down the steps. She didn't know what to think of an autistic ghoul, it was bit of a first. It really shouldn't though, mentally, ghouls were identical to humans. So if there were autistic Humans then it would make sense there were autistic ghouls. Then there was his RC count. There was only one way to get it that high and usually that was cause for concern but Yoshimura said that he wasn't proud of his past. She understood that. She had done things herself, that she wasn't too proud of, but never cannibalism. Yet, she was never forced to that level of desperation, or hunger. Marcus probably was. She won't confront him about it, not yet. She would have to apologize, and she trust him quite enough for that but she would be willing to be… nicer to him from now on.

* * *

Marcus shambled forward towards Akira's apartment, sore as hell and equally as tired. He couldn't believe that he was dumb enough to not check the work hours. OK, maybe he could but still. Anteiku closed at seven and everyone got off at seven thirty. The last running train to the first ward was at eight. He got to the train station at eight o' five. Thus, he had to run on rooftops to get home, and that took close to an hour. So, here he was, ready to pass out at the drop of a hat. At least it didn't cost him to much RC, it would be easy to replenish. Fumbling with his set of keys, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. The lights were off, naturally. Akira had work tomorrow, so she needed to get some sleep. He closed the door and locked it, then set the keys on the hook by the door.

As soon as he did that, he heard his mother scream.

 _Pain._

 _Pain lanced through her shoulders and stomach._

 _Hands caressed places they didn't belong, declaring their vile intentions._

 _Gleaming gas masks floating in the darkness._

 _Laughter._

 _Her screams heard but unheard._

' _Someone save me. Please! Why won't anyone help?!'_

 _Akira!_

 _Akira!_

" _Akira!"_

"Akira!"

Akira was pulled from the hell her memories had turned her dreams into. She was in her bed, cradled in the arms of her son as he whispered assurances. "It's alright. It's just a dream. Just a memory."

Tears flowed freely from her eyes, as she wept into Marcus' chest. She wept from horror of that night and how weak she felt. She hated that a simple dream turned her into a child, and she especially hated it when it was in front of Marcus. She wanted to be strong for him but it was hard to do when she cried like this. He said he didn't mind that she was still a proud woman, and a 'bloody good investigator because of it.' His words but it still gnawed at heart. Like any other mother would, in this situation.

Marcus knew what she was thinking, she thought it every time. He was regretting telling about his encounter with Souta. This was the second time in the past few days but she had a right to know and he wouldn't deny her that. "You're strong."

She shook her head and talked into his chest. "I'm not. I should be doing this for you. Not the other way around. I'm pathetic."

"And that's what makes you strong." Marcus assured. "It takes real strength to admit that you are helpless. I don't think less of you. I never will. I think it makes you a better mother because you're teaching humility."

Akira looked up at him and said jokingly. "You're annoying when you right." Already her mood had improved, like it always did when he gave one of his 'Fairy Tail speeches,' as they call it.

He leaned down and kissed her head. "Had to learn from somewhere. Now get some sleep. You have work tomorrow."

"But I don't wanna go." She whined childishly.

"Tough. If I gotta go to work the so do you."

"Fine." She said with a smile.

They laid down despite Marcus still being fully clothed in his work outfit. Marcus laid in his side facing Akira who was in the same position. She draped an arm over his side and pulled him closer. She may not like the nightmares, but she doesn't mind the chance to snuggle with her baby.

* * *

 _ **9,013 words and 25 pages. Size fourteen font.**_

 _ **Smaller than our usual but it's a fluff chapter.**_

 _ **I'm still sorry about the insane delay. As I said I was under some serious stress over something really stupid. I'm also going to change some things in procedure. The time frame for upadates has been extended to three weeks with a week to upload. I know it's more or less every month but that's because the chapters are getting longer and more intricate to write and it's also factoring in any Irl interference. Upload week will be from the first to the seventh of every month, excluding next month obviously.**_

 _ **Please, review even if it's to bitch about how late it is, just review. I'm gonna start answering reviews at the end of every chapter starting the next one. No spoilers. I would especially like it if you pointed if anyone's out of character.**_

 _ **TY.**_


	5. Newt

Seven years ago…

Akira woke up to the buzzing of her alarm clock. She was on her side, facing away from the device, and curled up in her arms was the ghoul child she had saved two weeks ago. His arm was wrapped around her midriff with his head buried beneath here bosom. Marcus is his name, and as far as she could tell, he's from Britain. She's been housing him ever since that night, even though she had only intended to keep him until his wounds had fully healed. But he wouldn't go, no matter what she did. She had eventually given up after a week of trying to convince him and let him stay. The dorms at the academy were single occupancy only, so she did not have to worry any roommates discovering him. Besides, he keeps the dreams away.

The teenage girl carefully maneuvered her arm out from under him, so as to get her arm free without disturbing him. If he slept through the tiresome Klaxon of the alarm clock then she highly doubted shifting him slightly would disturb him at all. Once her arm was free, the human sat up, turned and pressed the snooze button, silencing the device. She turned back around to see Marcus, who was sleeping soundly not three seconds ago, was sitting up and staring at her.

"You're up early." He said blandly, expressionless eyes watching.

Startled by his sudden consciousness, Akira let out a yell of surprise as she practically jumped out of her skin. Losing her balance on the edge of the bed, she flailed her arms in a vain attempt to not fall off. Akira tipped backwards and fell off the furniture onto the floor, smacking her head against the floor. Groaning in pain, the cadet clutched her head. Her white tank top bunched up from the fall, exposing her midriff and her legs that were covered with black night pants, were still partially on the mattress. Marcus rose to his knees to look at the agonizing girl with raised eyebrows, completely unconcerned for her well-being. Not that he should, if she can cope with her wounds to help him then a fall to the floor should be nothing. That's his thought process.

"That shouldn't hurt. You've dealt with worse." He stated, straightening his black shirt.

Akira quickly sat up and placed her hands on the bed to lean closer to him, intensifying her glare. "I'm human, so falling like that does hurt."

' **Pathetic.** ' Xeno commented

"Yes, she is." Marcus responded verbally.

Akira sighed as she gave him a deadpan look. "I hate it when you two talk about me when I can't hear you. How are you awake anyways? You were still asleep when the alarm went off."

"I couldn't hear your heart beating."

Akira paused. "Uh…"

The anger faded from the girl as she realized that he had fallen asleep listening to the sound of her heart beating. It was hard to be mad or even annoyed at someone when they had done something so cute and endearing. It was worse when he had done it to help her sleep. She couldn't help but fawn over the kid. In her head, of course. No way in hell would she let him see her act so indignantly.

'How can he be so emotionless and so damn cute?'

Sighing, Akira stood up and walked over to the closet that was by the door. Her dorm was a small ten foot by eleven-foot room. She didn't keep a whole lot of stuff in her room, like superficial things that didn't have that much appeal to her. She just had the king bed in one corner of the room and a basic corner desk in the adjacent corner. On it was a laptop and an alarm clock on either side. The bathroom was in the opposite corner of the desk with the closet next to it and the door. Her closet didn't have a whole lot in it, other than several sets of basic battle dress uniforms or BDU's. She wasn't supposed have anything else in there, as a rule at the academy. The Ghoul Investigator Training Academy is similar to a Military Academy, so Inspectors come by and check each room. Making sure no contraband was hidden, the beds were made and the clothes were hung and folded. Which was something she needed to tell Marcus so he can vanish when they start inspecting.

Marcus asked. "Why are you awake?"

"I've got to go to class." She answered.

Like a persistent five-year-old, he asked. "But you haven't gone on the past two weeks, why now?"

Eyebrow twitching in annoyance, she replied. "It's complicated." It actually wasn't, she just didn't want to talk about it. The Board that was managing the Academy gave her a week's suspension for sneaking out and stealing CCG property and an additional week to recover from the mental trauma of the night's events. Which was the only reason she didn't receive a worse punishment.

Marcus abstained, he may have been with her for only two weeks but he already learned when to drop a subject. "If you say so."

Content that she had 'won' the argument, she turned back to the closet and opened it, revealing several hangers holding sets of BDU's with a two drawer dresser below them that held her underwear. Akira grabbed the edges of her shirt and started pulling upwards but stopped just below her breasts. She realized that Marcus was mostly likely sitting there and watching her unabashedly. Which honestly made sense. He grew up on the streets where something like decency was useless and could get you killed if you turned your back to the wrong person. Hell, there was a good chance he hadn't heard of that kind of thing and wouldn't understand if she told him. When she first met him, he was as naked as the day he was born. Nonetheless, it was the embarrassing and there was no way she was stripping down in front of him.

The cadet turned her head to look at the ghoul and muttered while blushing. "Turn around."

"What?" Marcus asked, surprised at the request.

Believing that he didn't hear her, and was flustered that she had to say it twice, her face became so red it could have been put to use in a dark room. She tore off her shirt and chucked it at him, yelling. "Just turn around, Idiot!"

Completely unfazed by the now inbound shirt flying at him, Marcus simply raised a hand and caught it. He dropped it on the bed and looked at Akira, confused, while she glared at him. Her arm covering her exposed chest, trying to preserve her modesty.

Giving in to her request, Marcus faced away with a childish. "You're weird."

"Says the kid who leers at half naked teenage girls."

"You took off your shirt."

The cadet took one of the hangers with a BDU on it and chucked that at him. "Idiot!"

Unable to see it coming, the bundle of heavy clothing hit the back of his head with the force of a thrown dodgeball. He fell forward till he face planted onto the bed. Akira walked over and snatched up her uniform and the nearby shirt. Then for good measure, grabbed one of the pillows and smashed it on his head. Marcus oofed and Akira walked away, feeling quite satisfied with herself. Marcus just laid there, not in the mood to continue this little comedy routine. Akira shed the night pants and her underwear, tossing them with her shirt inside an open hamper that was beside the dresser. She opened the drawers and took out a sports bra and panties out of the top and bottom drawers, respectively. Sliding into those, followed by the BDU pants and shirt with the shirt tucked in.

"Alright, now listen." Akira said, starting to tie her hair in her usual braid. "I'm gonna be gone for most of the day."

"When will you be back?" Marcus asked, sitting up with the correct belief that her talking to him was the signal that he could turn around. The pillow fell off and slumped onto the floor.

"Some time after seven but before seven twenty." Was Akira's answer, as she finished up her braid. She grabbed a pair of combat boots that were under her desk and sat down in the office chair. She put on the boots, tucking in the pant legs loosely before tying it. "There's a pair of inspectors coming around in a few hours. I suggest you go and hide somewhere for a short while. Probably should leave now, just to be sure."

She stood up from the chair and used the desk as a step stool to reach the one foot by four window that sat above her desk. The girl didn't see the younger boy crawl off the bed and start taking off his clothes behind her. She unlatched the window and slid it open, the opening a little less than two feet wide, more than enough to allow the ghoul child through. She started stepping down, turning so she could suggest Marcus that he should… hunt while he was out. Which cleared Marcus' path as he tapped into his natural ghoul abilities and sped past her, diving through the window. After a moment of shock, Akira scrambled back up the window and looked out.

More than thirty feet away in the nearby street, Marcus was perched by a pothole. His chitinous kakuja form covering him as he quickly slid the tips of one his clawed hands into the holes of lid and tossed it lightly into the air. As he crawled in with animalistic fluidity, the rinkaku tails shot up and hooked the inside of the bottom of the pot hole lid and pulled it in after him. The metal object was shut with such force, it bounced, before rolling around in the edge of the opening like a quarter after it was spun. It finally stopped, and settled in the hole. Within the space of at least three seconds, he had sped across thirty feet and disappeared down the manhole. Anyone who saw him on any cameras would most likely just a see a black blur then assume it was some kind of cosplayer who had dived into the Tokyo sewer system due to his relation to a movie monster.

Akira scoffed, shaking her head. "Fast little shit."

Climbing off the now creaking desk as it finished trying to maintain her weight, she turned to see that the ghoul had left his dirty clothes piled in the middle of the floor. After stating a few choice words about the hygiene or lack thereof that boys had, she started scooping up the clothing and tossed them in the hamper. Before setting out, she focused on fixing the sheets on her bed. Straightening out the sheets and pillows, smoothing out any wrinkles so that the inspectors don't flip her bed and bring her back in here to do it again. While they watched. That happened to her once, never again. After making sure everything was prim and proper and closet door was closed, she walked out of her room taking the keys off the hook and locking the door behind her.

The academy runs off a very strict and tight schedule. They had no particular time when one should wake up except on certain and rare occasions. As long as you were where you were supposed to be at five thirty. Breakfast was served from five fifteen to five twenty-five, so one learned to eat fast around here. Which also meant that if someone wanted to take a shower in the morning and still eat, they would have to get up butt fuck early. That's where Akira got lucky. The class schedule was split up into two blocks. The Physical Training block and the mental training block. Half the class, selected through indiscriminate random chance, had their physical training in the morning block from five thirty to eleven forty-five, while the other half had it in the afternoon block after lunch from twelve fifteen to six thirty. Akira had the morning block for physical training, so she had felt there was no point on washing up when the cleanliness would be ruined in less than half an hour. Her drill sergeant would make them shower before going to lunch anyways.

So after heading down to the mess hall which took her close to fifteen minutes and she woke up at five so she arrived just as breakfast was being served. Which also meant the lines were already packed. She went through the lines to have a delicious meal of pancakes and scrambled eggs in a plastic container, school lunch style. Scarfing it down in less than five minutes, in true teenager fashion, she finished just in time for the first bell. Everyone scrambled to throw their trash away and get moving, including her. Her drill Sergeant has her unit meet up at one of the farthest corners of the schools like the asshole his job required him to be. She had to run at a full sprint in order to make it there just a few seconds before the late bell rang. Akira was hunched over, breath completely gone, and she felt like she was on the verge of death.

"Hurry up, Mado!" Boomed a burly and commanding voice. "You may have just beaten the bell but you've yet to get in line and you're not present until then. Now. FALL IN!"

With a breathless, "Yes, sir." She stumbled over to her place in the grid of fellow cadets.

"You're gonna regret wasting your breath getting here, because I've got to undo two weeks of laziness. So, prepare yourself, Mado!"

And as he promised, he worked her and, in complete fairness and equality, the entire group of thirty plus students was worked twice as hard than usual, much to everyone chagrin. Several hours of massive amounts of push-ups, sit ups, and front back go's to kill ten drill sergeants and then some. He then decided to send everyone on a PT run. Most PT runs are usually two-miles long but he sent them out on a four mile run. However, he was at least kind enough to not make them put on the disgustingly heavy PT gear. Even so, it didn't make it any more fun, especially when she was placed at the head of the group and in charge of calling out the PT song.

A mile and a half passed without issue but she was starting to lose breath and she could hardly keep the song up. Thankfully the student next to her, a towering young man with dark hair and dark eyes and lightly tanned skin had enough mercy to pick up the song for her, so she could catch her breath. Well, as much as one can while running. At this point they were on a predetermined path through the forest that was next to the academy with their drill sergeant driving ahead in a Jeep. The tree line on either side was pretty thick. You couldn't see anything past the trees after five meters. Despite that, Akira was barely able to see the blur of movement within the treetops, movement that was keeping pace with them. Feeling quite alarmed by this, she opened her mouth to announce its presence to the sergeant. Then she saw a faint red glow accompanying the silhouette, the red glow of an ukaku, a massive one. More and more details about the silhouette became recognizable and she realized. Marcus… No, Xeno was tailing her group.

'That complete and fucking idiot!' She screamed in her head, angrily. 'Doesn't he know tha-'

Akira had been so focused on the ghoul that was stalking them in the trees and her anger towards him, she didn't see the tree root that had stuck up out of the ground in its search for water. Her left foot got caught in it, tripping her, and sent her forward and to the right. Directly in the path of the double column of sixteen students. Everything became a blur of rolling sky, earth, horizon and pain, lots of pain. Xeno who stopped his traversing of the trees when he heard the commotion, saw the whole thing. The fall sent the girl into a horizontal roll, turning her into a literal tripwire. The first to trip over the unfortunate girl was the equally unfortunate male cadet that was next to her. He actually took to the air for a foot or two before falling face first, Akira roll was accelerated slightly. She rolled closer to the fallen boy, who, much to Xeno's and Marcus' surprise rolled over and clung to Akira and rolled once more. Putting him between her and the oncoming mass of students.

All this happened within a few seconds, so the next set of cadets didn't get the chance to slow down and their feet slammed into the black haired cadet's back. The same thing happened with the next pair, and the next pair, and the next pair. It wasn't until the fifth pair that they started slowing down but it was only that pair. The remaining twenty-four-plus students started slamming and crashing into each other until they were a pile of limbs and combat boots that slammed into the male cadet's back. They may have been going slower than first set of people but they had a larger mass and force is still mass times acceleration. So, it hurt way more than the individual masses did and because they were moving slower, instead of going over the two cadets that started this domino effect. The mass of bodies to fell right on top of them.

The drill sergeant had already stopped his jeep, the second he heard the song stop. He turned his head around just in time to see Akira and the other cadet disappear under the flood of twenty-four plus cadets of various sizes and weights. Immediately, he leapt out of vehicle and ran over to the pile of bodies to try and dig out the male and female cadets. As soon as he started pulling students of the pile, the rest started to get out on their own. Rolling or crawling, whatever was easier. This sped up the process. Within a minute, the sergeant lifted the last student off of Akira and the cadet by the scruff of his uniform and tossed him to the side with ease that was given to him by his massive build. They were still in the same position as the last time he saw them. The male cadet had acted like a shield for Akira and took pretty much all the damage but a few flailing, boot covered feet managed to hit her. The most noticeable injury was an already forming bruise on her cheek. The cadet who protected her was in worse condition. While his face was relatively unmarred, and there was no visible damage but internal damage can be just as dangerous or more so. But what in hell caused this ... clusterfuck?

Akira opened her eyes and she became aware of the mild pain that hummed through her body. The largest of it came from the bruise on her cheek. She sat up and her body ached. "What happened?" She asked groggily.

"That's what I'd like to know." The sergeant's basso voice rumbled.

The cadet that was running behind her, supplied. "She tripped, sir. I couldn't see what."

"It was that tree root." Everyone turned to the voice to see the black haired cadet that protected Akira, sit up. His arm was clutching at his right side. "The one that's been giving you trouble since the beginning of the year."

A nearby cadet asked him. "Hey man, you alright?"

"Yeah, nothing's broken." He winced as a lance of pain went through his ribs on the right. "I think."

The sergeant's eyes immediately locked onto the root that wasn't even three meters away. Right where he remembered it. He knew it would cause something like this, eventually. The administration was notified about it numerous times but they have yet to send someone out here to get rid of it. He expected that to change, now that someone had been hurt. They should be lucky that no one died. Falling at the front of the line like that. Easy way to get trampled. If that make cadet hadn't reacted the way he did, the sergeant would be making a phone call to Akira's father and he did not want to be on the receiving end of Kureo's wrath. In which case he should check on her well-being.

"Mado, are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, sir. Just got tossed around a bit." Which was accurate. The mild pain had vanished and the pain in her cheek was now minor irritation but her shoulders hurt like hell. Right where the RC spikes had pierced them. Agitation to the recently healed wounds. She had a feeling that she was going to start predicting the weather with them. Like her father does with his old injuries.

"How is he?" The sergeant asked the cadet who was checking out the injuries on the dark-haired guy. He had navy blue hair cut short and brown eyes, with a runner's build.

He answered. "His back is as bruised as an apple after it was used as a baseball. Several bruised ribs, one is definitely fractured and I'm willing to bet that there's two. I can guarantee none are broken."

"How do you know?" Asked a female cadet that was holding the injured boy steady so he didn't strain himself. She a petit thing with bubblegum pink hair tied into a single ponytail and green eyes

"Because he's moving." He dryly responded. "If he had a broken rib then we would need earplugs every time he moved."

The girl's mouth dropped open in a silent but understanding 'oh.'

He sighed in annoyance before telling his sergeant. "He'll be fine as long as it's not aggravated."

The sergeant nodded. "Well then, it's your lucky day cadet, you get to ride in the jeep." Several nearby students groaned. "Actually, in light of recent events, until that root has been cleared, no more PT runs. Take five, limber up. Then we head back."

The cadets immediately broke into conversation except the two that helped the injured boy and chose to assist the drill sergeant carry the injured to the jeep. Also excepting Akira, who took this time to walk over to where she last saw Marcus. No one really noticed or cared. When nature called, she called. As Akira was disappearing into the forest, the sergeant had finished hoisting the injured cadet into the jeep, who let out a groan of pain. The other two were dismissed to their own devices.

"Pretty brave thing to do." The sergeant complimented. "Taking the hits for her."

"Stupid."

"They tend to be synonymous. What's your name?"

"Amon Koutarou." He paused. "Do you think she'll be impressed?"

"You obviously don't know Akira."

Akira let out small sneeze as she proceeded into the forest. She didn't go too deep into the forest, far enough to keep the other cadets from seeing her but close enough that if something went wrong, and she could get within sight with a two second sprint. Not that she expected anything to go wrong but it never hurt to have a contingency or two. She stopped, and before she had the chance to call him out, Marcus dropped from the tree. He landed in a crouch, before standing up. His kakuja form had already been shed and his Kagune had been dissolved. Except his huge Ukaku, which is wrapped around him in the cloak-like form when she had first seen him. Although, it looked ridiculously huge on him. On Xeno, it seemed to fit like a glove but Marcus, it was like someone had wrapped a large queen-sized comforter around him. His expression was as blank as this morning. Which only served to infuriate her more.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She angrily hissed, keeping her voice low so that her fellow classmates wouldn't hear her.

"They came and left." Marcus answered, referring to the inspectors that Akira was talking about. "I waited in the room because that what I thought you would want. It got boring, just sitting there, so I left and tracked you down. With Xeno's help, we stalked and watched you."

"Why?" She asked, sharply.

And for the first time since she knew him, and for the first time in his life, Marcus clammed up. He looked away from her, refusing to meet her eyes and he rubbed at his arm uncertainly. He honestly didn't have an answer. Just like he didn't have an answer for why he saved her. All he knows is the ache that was in his heart every time he thought of her being hurt, and that the ache eased when he had visual confirmation that she was safe. The feeling was as alien and foreign to him as the form he took, was to everyone else. He had no idea how to deal with it, and Xeno was anything but helpful in deciphering those emotions. He actually looked like his age. Small and meek. Insecure. Not his usual calculating and emotionless form. Akira lost her anger at his sudden change in mood, and she crouched to his level to look into his eyes. Marcus worked even harder to avoid her gaze. Then he looked directly at the bruise on her cheek. One of his hands rose out of cloak hesitantly and rested lightly on the imperfection on her skin. Akira winced when he made contact with the sensitive skin, and he pulled back his hand.

As he lowered his hand to his side his head lowered till a shadow was cast over his eyes, and he whispered. "My fault."

Akira's face bore confusion and concern, asking. "What?"

"What's wrong with me?" He asked, a little louder. His voice was no longer the cold calculating number it usual is. Instead, it sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "Why do I hurt? What is this?"

Akira remained quiet, stunned by the drastic change. Perhaps, it wasn't that drastic. The first few nights, he let her suffer from the nightmares. He only started sleeping with her a few days ago. Before that, he'd join her when she had the dream and before that, he would sit with her until she had calmed down and that was more out of annoyance. He had been changing emotionally this entire time, but it didn't really hit him until now. Until she got hurt, paying too much to Marcus and not the road. He feels guilty, an emotion he never dealt with and it's eating at him.

She clasped her hands, firmly but gently around where the ghoul's shoulders would be. She said, in a motherly tone. "Hey, look at me." He did. His eyes were brimming with tears. "Listen to me. Nothing's wrong. You're just fine. You're just feeling heartache and it's new for you."

"Heartache?" He asked with childish curiosity.

Akira laughed at how innocent the question was and that it came from him. "It's when your heart hurts because something or someone you care about got hurt." It wasn't the textbook definition but it helped Marcus understand what was going on.

He nodded and blinked, releasing the tears that had collected at the edges of his eyes, streaking lines down his face. His head jerked back suddenly, as though a fly flew in front of his face, a look of utter confusion on his face. A small hand reached up, wiped at one of the tears, and looked at the wetness that was on his hand. Akira giggled. He looked like a dog that just heard a new sound. She used the sleeve of her BDU to wipe at his face, getting rid of the salty water. As Akira looked into the ghoul's eyes, she understood how Ripley felt as she cleaned Newt's face. The surge of motherly instinct, the need to protect him and care for him. After he was clean, Akira dropped her hand and stared into his eyes for a moment and he into hers. She then, gently, pulled him into a hug. Marcus let out a shocked gasp as he was pressed against her.

After a hesitant pause, he slowly wrapped his arms around her and buried his head into the crook of her neck. She wasn't sure if she heard him right and seven years later, she still wasn't sure. Nonetheless, she believes she heard him say, "Mommy."

They separated after a moment, and Akira said. "Can you survive until noon? I'll bring you something to entertain you for the rest of the day. Okay?"

Marcus nodded, his expressionless mask back in place. Although his eyes still held a sliver of emotion. Akira leaned in and kissed his forehead. Marcus once again had that confused puppy-dog look but there was a ghost of a smile.

"I'll see you at the dorm." Akira said.

The ghoul nodded and took a step back before leaping into the trees with a single bound. Landing on a branch, he leapt towards another tree, then another and another. Bouncing between the trees like a pinball, vanishing into the distance. Akira rose and turned to return to the unit just as her sergeant's booming voice demanded her to do so. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, her thoughts racing towards the future, the past, and the present. They went every direction, as she planned out how she was going to adjust her life to accommodate Marcus. The primary thought being, 'What kinda manga should I get him?'

* * *

Today...

Marcus walked up the stairs of Anteiku to the door. When he stopped in front of the door, he took a moment to use the window in the door as a makeshift mirror, straightening the blond wig that adorned his head. He pushed a set of purple sunglasses up his nose and fixed the bowtie that was part of his bartender outfit. He pulled out a box of toothpicks out of the pocket of the black vest, opened it and popped one in his mouth. The toothpick was a compromise for what was supposed to be the cigarettes. He wasn't quite tall enough to pull this off but he was a few centimeters taller than the average height for his age. Marcus hoped that Yoshimura wouldn't mind, he's been working there for several weeks' and it really didn't interfere with the loose dress code. If anything, it fit perfectly except for the wig, sunglasses and toothpick. Only one way to find out. The kakuja reached out a hand and turned the doorknob, entering.

The day was still quite early, and it was a weekday so the shop was still quite empty. Only a table had a single customer at it. This left the employees of the coffee with nothing to do, so Irimi and Koma were sitting at a counter having a conversation. The manager was sorting jars of coffee beans on the shelves. Probably for no particular reason than to pass the time. The emptiness of the shop more or less made the cosplay pointless. No one was there to appreciate how good his cosplay was, but that was only half of the equation. The other half was appreciating one's own work and how well one can pull it off.

Marcus closed the door and stepped up behind Irimi and Koma. He deepened his voice to match the character and said, taking out the toothpick. "Go figures. I dress up and no one's here. Dammit, just my luck."

As expected, they didn't recognize him. From his tone and the depth of his voice, the two ghouls thought another troublemaker had stumbled in from the cater-corner fourth ward. It happened rarely, two or three times a year. So they had turned around ready to deal with such a ruffian and escort him out. So when they were met with a Marcus Mado dressed as Shizuo Heiwajima from Durarara! they started laughing.

"What are you wearing?" Irimi tittered.

Marcus raised an eyebrow, staying in character, sighing. "Why don't people take me seriously?"

Koma giggled. ''Perhaps, it's the costume."

Marcus said in his normal voice. "The consequence of being a cosplayer. Hey guys."

"Hello, Marcus. You're here early." Yoshimura greeted calmly, seeming completely unsurprised by Marcus' appearance.

The teenager ghoul walked around the counter behind. "I was bored at home. Needed something to do. Although, it looks like I won't have much more luck here." He said.

"Unfortunately, no." The older ghoul replied. "You generally don't come around till after school's out and we have plenty of company then."

Marcus paused and thought about it. He was right. When he gets here at his usual time, he's mostly serving high school, and college students. He didn't know what happened during the day. Although, common sense should've told him that it would be nearly empty during this time of day. However, it's hard for common sense to tell you things when you not thinking about it.

"Good point. I should probably go home then." He turned to leave.

"Actually, it would probably be best if you stay."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, Misery loves company," Yoshimura smiled and Marcus laughed. "I told Yomo about you and he wants to meet."

Marcus said. "Alright."

He had heard stories about Yomo from Touka and the other members of Anteiku. Yomo was sort of the black ops guy of Anteiku. Anything that they needed done discreetly, he would do. He also was in charge of keeping an eye on dove movement and collecting information on ghoul gang activity. If Touka followed his suggest and asked Yoshimura to look up information about Marcus' stepmother. He was willing to bet that it would be Yomo who would get the information. The kakuja with the moniker 'No Eyed Demon' also knew that Yomo wouldn't be by until after Anteiku closed for the day. Which meant that staying was completely pointless on the practical level, but it was nice. Suffering boredom with your companions. He also didn't appear like an asshole.

Searching for a way to help pass the time, he turned to strike up a conversation with Touka. Then Marcus finally realized that the violet haired ghoul wasn't there. Marcus looked around confusedly, leaning over the counter to see if she was sitting in the back. The second oldest members of Anteiku looked at him quite oddly.

Marcus asked no one in particular. "Where's Touka?"

Yoshimura answered. "She's at school."

Marcus face palmed and sighed. "Of course, sorry. Stupid question."

Common sense doesn't work unless you ask for it.

Irimi's head perked up as though she remembered something and she looked at Marcus, asking. "You're similar in age to Touka, why are you here and not at school?"

"Online school. It's easier to manage, time-schedule wise." The teenage ghoul said with complete honesty. "If there was an emergency that Mom needed me for, I could drop everything and go, without raising eyebrows and questions. Among other things."

Akira was also worried about discovery, not of Marcus being a ghoul but of his dual personality. Xeno is known for being relatively uncontrollable, especially when he had been denied the chance to hunt for a while. If Marcus caught a whiff of ghoul at school and Xeno decided he particularly liked the smell. Things could go horribly wrong. That was assuming Xeno, who is primarily raw instinct, didn't decide to do a coup d'état so he could interact with all the nice sets of breasts that would be around him. Ever since puberty hit, he became as horny as a dog.

"Do you guys know when she'll be back?" Marcus asked, referring to Touka.

Irimi said. "Not for quite a while. Her friend roped her into some kind of study group."

Marcus nodded. "Ah."

He walked around the counter and sat on one of the barstools beside Irimi and Koma, pulled out his phone and tried to find a way to pass the time.

Akira sat on the edge of the short end of a rectangular conference table facing the wall in front of her, which was the closest. The table was in the middle of the room and held ten black padded office chairs. One on either of the short ends and four on both long sides. The room she was in had glass windows making up the walls to the female investigator's right and behind her. Revealing the offices of Arima's squad including hers. The wall behind her was the furthest, the table filling the gap between them and it held the black steel door that led to the room. The wall in front of her held a map of the twenty-three wards of Tokyo with a couple of feet on either side from the corners. The entire thing was covered in glass and on it, over the map were dozens of dots, drawn in red dry erase marker, collected in the general area of the twentieth ward. With scribbles in the spaces on either side of the map.

This was the conference room that Arima's squad was supposed use when discussing cases. However, as CCG's Reaper tended to work solo, it was rarely used. Arima didn't mind his team using it, though and she was taking advantage it. Her father asked for her assistance in the Gourmet case, sending her everything the twentieth ward office had on it. Which was not a lot of information and lots of victims and missing persons cases suspected to be related. She had mapped it all out. It wasn't hard to find a pattern, an epicenter for his hunting area and a general profile for Gourmet, but she couldn't find a pattern for his victims or one that stuck anyways. He would go for green eyed Teenagers for a while then switch to dark eyed middle agers. She's been staring at the map for half an hour, hoping that something might click. Something was starting to click when a knock came to the door.

Akira sighed, annoyed with the knocker's sense of timing and turned to look at door. Through the window, she saw Amon and her heart stuttered slightly. He's been visiting frequently since they met and every time her heart fluttered. She also panicked every time, fixing her clothes and hair. Which she did, straightening the coat of her steel grey suit, and fiddled with her hair needlessly. She wondered why she freaked out like this. She wasn't interested in him or anything.

"Come in." Akira said.

Amon walked in, making sure the door was closed. He was wearing his usual dark suit and tie, with the silver cross around his neck. "Good morning."

The female investigator pulled back the sleeve of her jacket to look at the digital watch on her wrist and wryly said. "Only for another half hour."

Amon sighed though a faint smile graced his lips as he moved to stand beside Akira. He saw what was on the map and stated. "I see that you got the Gourmet case info Mr. Mado sent you."

She nodded. "Yeah, I got it but I don't think I was that helpful."

"Anything that helps at this point."

"This is everything I've got at the moment but it's not much." She picked up a manila folder that sat beside her and handed it to him. "Pretty sure Dad's already figured most of it out."

He flipped through it, glancing at each page and nodded. "He did but he doesn't have a full profile like this. This is good work."

Akira's cheeks tinted pink. "Thanks."

Amon's eyes flickered to the woman beside her. It was shocking to him that she really didn't remember him. Of course, they had only interacted that one time she tripped. She didn't say thanks, but she didn't get the chance either. As soon as they got back, he was carted off to the hospital wing, where he was held for several weeks to heal up two bruised ribs, another fractured one, a minor concussion and the eight percent of his body that was covered in bruises. Then the semester ended and the classes were changed, and the never saw her again. Which was unfortunate, as Akira was the high school crush everyone goes on about. He honestly thought he would never see her again. He couldn't believe his luck when it turned out that his partner's daughter was the same girl. The absolute random chance of that was astounding to him. As great as this second chance was, the thought of receiving the 'don't break my daughter's heart or else' talk from Kureo sent shivers down his spine.

Amon shook his head to clear out thoughts of Kureo coming at him with a scalpel and tried to focus on starting a conversation with Akira. "So, uh, what made you pick up criminal profiling? You're great at deducing things like your father and profiling isn't that popular of a subject. So, why?"

Akira paused. She actually didn't take the profiling course at the academy or at all. Marcus has been taking one though since a few years ago. He used a self-taught style when he hunted to help analyze prey. The ghoul thought he could help Akira more if he refined his skill, and she ended up learning a thing or two that made her regret not taking the course. The thought never occurred to her that someone would ask about it, so she never thought of a reason for why she would know profiting. Well, there's a reason she can beat almost anyone at poker.

"I thought that it would give me a tactical advantage over my opponent." She responded in a short informative tone. "Know your enemy, and you know his next move."

Amon nodded soberly, the curt answer blowing apart his shot at a conversation. "I see."

The female investigator nearly slapped herself for her stupidity. Here he was trying to start a conversation and she was giving him curt replies. The fair thing would be to try herself. "I notice that you always wear that cross, almost religiously, if you can forgive the pun." She laughed lightly. "Are you catholic or protestant?"

When she looked at Amon, he was clutching at the cross in question, his knuckles whitening and he had a pained expression in his eyes. Old memories flashed through his mind's eye.

Akira mentally face palmed and chided herself. 'Good going, Akira. Why not make him feel like shit while you're at it?'

"Sorry if I dredged anything up." Akira apologized.

Amon shook his head. "No, it's fine. I-uh... it's why I wear it. See, I-"

"No." She interjected, causing him to look at her, surprised. "Your past isn't something that you tell anyone about. So, don't tell me unless you're sure I'm worth telling."

The male investigator paused and nodded. "Ok. Well, I should go and bring this to Mr. Mado." He held up the folder for emphasis.

Together, they started migrating back towards the door. Amon opened the door and stepped out but he paused. Not closing the door, and looked at Akira, said. "Hey, I know this great ramen shop down in the twentieth ward and I was thinking, maybe, we could head there for lunch."

The blonde haired women's mind switched to automatic pilot as she said wryly, "Oh, I don't know. This is gonna eat up most of my day so I'm probably gonna have to order in for lunch." She slowly started closing the door.

"Uh, how about after work?" Amon rushed out.

She shook her head. "Sorry but there's somewhere I've gotta be."

"Then a later-" The door clicked shut. "-date."

Amon sighed. 'Like it would be that easy.'

He walked away, folder under his arm, while Akira leaned her back against the door and tried to refrain from giggling like a schoolgirl. She wasn't fairing too well. The female Mado couldn't believe she just played hard-to-get. It was childish, yes, but it sent equally childish giddiness through her. She really thinks that he's quite handsome and if she wasn't as prideful, she would leap at the chance at a date. But she's not a pretty thing that hops out of her skirt when a boy in uniform winks at her, and there's other things to consider. One is her and his line of work. If their heads weren't in the game then one or both of would slip up and die. Then there was Marcus. Getting involved with Amon would increase the chance of the ghoul being discovered. Also, as her son, she should at least consult him about this as it did affect him, even if it ended up being a minor affect.

'Back to my Gourmet food.' She thought and it clicked for her. "Gourmet food. Of course!"

Touka wiped down the table at one of booth's in the back of coffee shop. In the corner of her eye, she saw Marcus walk by her with a tray full of dirty coffee cups, helping clean up now the shop was closed. He was still in that ridiculous cosplay. It actually looked really good, even if it is just a wig, glasses and a tooth pick. But he also pulled it off really well. A couple of college girls came in and one of them happened to be a Durarara! fan. She asked him to quote one of Shizuo's lines and he did so… graciously. She didn't recognize the quote – something about calling someone a dumbass made you a dumbass – and judging from the overly high pitched squeal of delight, he did it correctly. Her issue though was that he was doing it in the first place with no particular reason. There was no convention and it wasn't Halloween. It just didn't make any sense to her but she just chalked it up to him being an anime nut. She briefly wondered if he counted as an otaku. He wasn't Japanese but he lives here as a resident. It was an interesting thought…

…which was interrupted when the doorbell ringed as Yomo walked in.

Marcus looked up front rinsing the dirty coffee cups, to get his first look at the infamous Yomo. He was two inches taller than the No-eyed-demon of the fourth ward. His grey coat went down to his knees and was held shut by a zipper and four large metallic hook clasps. It hid his physique but Marcus believed that he had to have, at least a body of someone who exercises frequently. He also wore dark pants and shoes. The behind the scene employee of Anteiku had unusual stark silver hair even though he looked to be in his mid-thirties to forties. It was even odd because there was a light patch of facial hair on his chin that was dark. His face was blank of emotion and his dark eyes were cold and calculating. He seemed like a seasoned veteran from his balanced posture, his calm heartbeat, and the way his eyes swept across the room, locking onto Marcus.

Yomo began analyzing Marcus, the same way the teenager was him, causing to be self-conscious of his cosplay for the first time. It didn't interfere with the older ghoul's perception of him. It was obvious to him that the male teenager was not Japanese, most likely English, either of British or American origin. He would have to listen to him speak to be absolutely sure. The primary food collector for Anteiku saw the Brit's muscles tensing as soon as he walked in, cautious. The cosplay did kind of throw off the seasoned ghoul although it did help Yomo understand that Marcus is light hearted. Some people could build a halfway decent profile from the costume alone but the older ghoul didn't have the right training or education. He knew what he did from personal experience.

"Marcus Mado." Yomo said by way of greeting.

Marcus nodded, his voice held a mild tone of respect, the same kind that you gave to a soldier because you know that they deserve it. "Yomo."

"Follow me." He said. His deep voice and bland tone made it hard for the younger male to tell whether or not it was an order.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at Touka. "I thought you were exaggerating about his cold demeanor."

"Nope." Touka responded trying hide the smirk that was creeping onto her face.

Yomo came by for only three reasons. To drop off food, to participate in important meetings or to spar. His hands were empty of the usual gym bag he used to collect the bodies and nothing happened recently that majored large enough to require a meeting with his presence. That and Yomo had asked to meet Marcus specifically or that was what she had been told. Which meant to Touka, that Marcus was about to get his ass handed to him on a silver with gold filigree on the edges. No why she was going to miss that in the world.

Marcus was moving to follow the silver haired ghoul when she asked. "Mind if I come along?"

He paused and thought about it before saying. "Sure, don't see any problem with it."

'Yes!' Touka mentally cheered.

Together they followed Yomo into the back room and down the stairs. They entered a room that Marcus had never been in during his brief time at Anteiku. The first thing he noted was that it was really, really cold. It was large, about the size of a classroom. Four aisles were in the room, running perpendicular to the direction they were facing. They were placed in the room in a quad formation with even and symmetrical space between each other and the walls. Shiny metal doors with lever handles lined the walls aisles. It was obvious that this room is a big meat locker, a store room for the flesh that Anteiku has collected for distribution and use among the members. The other factor that told him the purpose of the room, was the nauseating scent of human flesh. He was used to it from his time on the streets. He had stumbled across plenty of human corpses, but it didn't make it any more bearable. The scent was unbearably sweet. The first time he smelled it he vomited. Touka noticed the greening of his face but didn't make notice of it.

They walked straight through the room to the back. Yomo opened a fridge door and instead of shelves piled neatly with portioned human flesh in air sealed packages, it opened up into a tunnel, made of concrete, and it went straight down to the underground that could lead you anywhere if you know them well enough and acted as the emergency exit slash sparring room for Anteiku. There was a ladder that went down the side. Without a word, the silver haired ghoul lowered himself onto the ladder and started climbing down. Marcus moved to follow him but was stopped when Touka grabbed his arm forcefully while glaring at him. Although, it didn't have the same impact due to her face being red enough to rival a tomato. She brushed past him and as she crouched to start working down her way down, Marcus realized that the outfit she wore, her usual work clothing, has a skirt. Understanding with an embarrassed blush and he followed.

After more than ten feet of nothing but tunnel and ladder, the No Eyed Demon felt the need for a wise ass comment. "Any deeper, and I could show you guys Big Ben. Magnificent sight, I'm telling you."

Another ten feet passed and the tunnel opened up into a massive area. It was dark really dark and Marcus only saw because of the time he spent in the dark tunnel, allowing to have some night vision. The ceiling rose twenty or thirty feet off the floor and there were no walls just what it appeared to be an ever expanding area. Large, concrete pillars, similar in design to those on stone bridges, rose to the ceiling, holding it up. The ladder was attached to one of these pillars. They were spaced out sparingly, close to fifty feet between each. The other thing about this place was that Marcus was that he believed he recognized it or at least knew how to get here from other places in the maze-like underground of Tokyo. An underground that was as intimately familiar to him as his own body. He had used them as his home during his time on the streets, they were expansive and had an infinite number of hiding places. Down there, he had felt like, still feels like the fictional creature he shared similarities with.

One by one they got off the ladder. Yomo reached into a crevice that was in the wall just above the ground and pulled out three folded up tripods with torch heads on the tops instead of cameras. He placed them in a very wide circle spanning twenty feet. He pulled out a lighter from the pocket of his overcoat and lit each torch as he set it down. The fires gave them plenty of light to use. Yomo took off his overcoat, revealing a white t-shirt and an athletic body that belonged on the set of 300.

As the only one who didn't know what he was getting into, Marcus asked. "So, what's going on?"

"Stay in the circle of torches." Yomo said, as he folded the coat and set it down on the ground.

Marcus looked at the two nearest torches and their location relative to him before stepping closer to where he needed to be in the corner of his eye he saw Touka lean against the nearby pillar. "Uh, okay. Why?"

Marcus's didn't get his answer. Yomo shot forward and came at Marcus with a right hook. There's one thing about Marcus that a lot of people don't know or would even guess about – other than Xeno. Akira had taught him some basics in martial arts. She started giving him lessons when Marcus had explained just how costly using his kakuja form was, the strain and the drain it was on him. She taught him, hoping that it would give him an alternative. He rarely ever used it, but the motions were instinctual. When something or someone comes at you unexpectedly with the intention to hurt you. You react instinctively, either retreating in a flight response or meeting the threat head-on as the fight response. As a high-end predator with few that rivaled him, he was not one for running.

The No-Eyed-Demon's right hand shot out, the muscles moving on memory, and grabbed onto the outside of the wrist belonging to the inbound fist. Marcus stepped toward with his right foot while pulling Yomo towards him, throwing the older ghoul off balance. The teenager twisted his attacker's wrist so that he was bent backwards, so unbalanced that he had a foot in the air. The black head reached across the white head's chest with his left hand. The kakuja swept the other ghoul's last leg on the ground out from under him and shoved him down to the ground while he was in the air while releasing his arm. The result was Yomo slamming into the ground on his back, his knees by his head before dropping to the ground also.

Yomo and Touka were stunned into silence. When Yomo swung at Marcus he had expected Marcus stumble backwards startled by the sudden swing or be too slow and take it full in the face. That was why he held back a little so that the boy wouldn't be knocked unconscious. That was his mistake. Touka just couldn't believe that someone who she had gone all-out against and got her ass handed to her, was down in less than five seconds.

Marcus turned and held out a hand to Yomo with an apologetic. "Sorry, I got startled."

He took and the younger ghoul hefted him up. "Better startled, then dead."

"True." Marcus agreed.

"Again."

Yomo came at Marcus again with a right uppercut. The teenager brought his palm up and used it as a guiding force against the inbound fist to direct it away from his face. He then leaned to the left and delivered three lightning quick jabs with both fists to the exposed side. Each not strong enough on their own to deal any decent damage but together in the same spot was equivalent to a full strength right jab. The older ghoul winced slightly before bringing his left around in a job. The Brit leaned to the right, avoiding the strike, then moved to hit the new open side but the Japanese ghoul had brought his arm back and tucked it against his side as a shield. All three strikes hit iron-like bicep. Yomo took a single step forward with his right foot and sent a full bodied, full strength, right cross. Marcus brought his arms in front of him and took the hit, sending him back a few feet.

Touka had to give the kid come credit, his style of fighting wasn't half bad. It was all about speed, hitting with quick, light strikes that deals little damage in the short run but over time wears the opponent down. Almost a full contrast to Yomo's tank like kick-boxer style. It was actually bad for him in the long run. The behind the scene worker was an Ukaku ghoul and that meant he had a low stamina. Which was why he had built his style and his physique so that he hit like a Mack truck, take the enemy down in the shortest amount possible. Although, Marcus' style suggested that he could be an Ukaku also. Every motion was small and minimalistic, combined with the low strength strikes saved him stamina. The two best ways Yomo could win was to hold back and go into defense. Making Marcus go onto offense, and have him waste his stamina then deliver a match ending haymaker.

Which is what he did. He held his boxer stance and waited. Marcus straightened, rubbing the now sensitive flesh that was on his arms. Bruised skin and a fractured Ulna on the left arm, easily. He knew that it was already healing, the skin was getting less sensitive and the arm was hurting less every time he turned it. He was going to need to have Akira check to make sure it healed right or he would need to fracture it again. The boy saw that Yomo was waiting for him and in rare occasion of teenage boy pride and cockiness, he thought that he had Yomo on the ropes, forcing him on the defense. He dove forward, rolling, and came up to into an uppercut, right beneath his opponents defenses.

The older ghoul leapt back to avoid the nose breaking strike. Marcus pressed the offense, shooting off attacks made of combos of two to five punches. He used lots of jabs and uppercuts, avoiding the slower and unbalancing crosses and hooks. Yomo brought his arms in front of him in a boxer's block, taking the hits. Something the gamer community calls tanking the damage. The No Eyed Demon swung from every angle possible than just from the front. Fists came at the white haired ghoul at the sides, below and above, probing for a way to get past his defenses. The taller ghoul took it like a man, absorbing the damage. The black head shook things up with a round house kick, causing the other ghoul to leap back to dodge it. Yomo brought his hands up to block the next attack but it never came.

Marcus had reentered his stance but it was looser, sloppy, and he was breathing heavy, exhausted. Now, it was time to deliver the haymaker. Yomo surged forward like a tidal wave, slamming the younger ghoul with blows. He swung with left and right jabs, simply looking to unbalance him. Marcus, for his part, held on by a hair, parrying and dodging in slow movements. Then, the teenager misjudged a right step forward and was thrown off balance. Yomo saw his chance and took a solid booming right step, brought his right arm back and swung his haymaker. Then, Marcus grinned. The misplaced right foot shot into place, kicking up a cloud of dust. He cocked his right fist and swung his own haymaker, not at Yomo himself but at his flying fist. His thought being that a draw was better than a loss.

The fists collided and the hands crumbled as the bones in them shattered. The knuckles had turned to dust, the bones in the palm and wrist were reduced to pebbles, and both the arm bones were quartered. Yomo stumbled back with a cry clutching the totally useless arm. Marcus also cried out but he dropped to his knees, arm dangling at his side, and let a long stream of British curses. Touka rushed over to the older ghoul, he waved her off and shambled towards the nearby ceiling support before sitting down against. The Brit got up and joined the white head. He felt really stupid but the pain was worth it.

'You're a fucking idiot.' Xeno commented tiredly.

Marcus laughed mentally. 'Sleeping beauty's awake.'

'Bugger off.' Xeno replied, yawning. 'You're arm is as flexible as Harry's in the second movie. WHY THE FUCK WOULDN'T I BE AWAKE?!'

Marcus lifted the arm in question and it flopped around. Much like the limb it was being compared to, although much more painfully. He set it down gently and muttered, "Good point."

"You have a good technique." Yomo said. Marcus looked at him. Touka wasn't in sight but he heard her shoes clanking against the ladder. "Your defense and counters are good, solid, but you have a poor offense."

"Never meant it for offense, just discouragement." The younger ghoul replied.

The white head nodded. "That move at the beginning, Tae Kwon Do?"

"Variation."

He nodded again then held out his good hand. "Good fight."

The boy shook it. "You too."

They slumped against the wall, content with enjoying the silence until Touka came back with aid. Then a stray thought entered Marcus' mind and he started laughing. Yomo raised an eyebrow causing Marcus to explain. "Mom's gonna flip out."

A facsimile of a smile flickered in the older ghoul's face.

* * *

 _ **10,732 words**_

 ** _A little late on publishing but not too bad. My beta reader wanted to make sure that it was good and I don't mind._**

 ** _I put a lot more work into the flashback than I had intended and not enough into the rest but I had lost my notes for the chapter and had to work from scratch._**

 ** _But enough of that._**

 ** _REVIEWS:_**

 ** _Anonymous626: You're Welcome, and if you liked the development that chapter than you probably liked this one._**

 ** _Twain apprentice: It has been a change of pace._**

 ** _-Luneth: It would suck to be you but then thank you._**

 ** _Next Chapter: Egg of the Black Sheep_**


	6. Egg of the Black Goat: Part One

A nineteen-year-old college boy laid on the bed that was in his low cost apartment. He was on his side, a horror novel beside him. He had dark hair, dark eyes and bright skin. He had the soft features of the Japanese. He wore a light blue sweater and khaki pants. Kaneki Ken was recently released from the hospital three weeks after the steel beams fell on him and rose The memory of her sexually aroused face as she sensually licked his blood of her fingers, sent a shiver down. Ever since then, something hasn't been right with him. It kept him in the hospital for another week. He was only supposed to be in there for two weeks, one to recover from the surgery and another for traumatic. The extra week came from the doctors worrying about mental damage when he refused to eat. They eventually felt he was would survive and let him go.

The TV across from the bed, droned on, a newscast with ghoul expert Hisashi Ogura, an older man with dark hair and eyes and a mustache. He stated. "Ghouls have no need to consume such large amount of food in such a short period of time."

The newswoman next to him nodded understandingly as he continued. "One dead body will sustain them for a month or two. What that means is the increased number of victims we're seeing are being consumed for pleasure. We have ourselves one nasty ghoul. It's probably afraid and hiding from the investigators right now."

Kaneki sat up and stared at the screen blankly, somewhat interested in what Ogura was saying. "They usually live amongst us disguised as human. Therefore very difficult to find."

"Oh, I see!" The girl exclaimed before tilting her head to the side. "But can't ghouls be satisfied with normal foods?"

He looked at her, annoyed, and let out a short breath. "Must be nice, having a seat on this panel despite your ignorance. First of all, ghouls cannot derive nourishment from anything other than humans. That's believed to be because of a unique enzyme they possess. On top of that, their tongues work differently than ours do…" He stuck out his tongue and pointed to it. "... So our foods taste revolting to them. Vegetables taste grassy, fish taste fishy and meat taste gamy."

"What?" Kaneki exclaimed, his attention full on the conversation as familiarity rang through him and his head ran a mile a minute.

Ogura said. "They may eat it in front of us but they'll be hit with a strong sense of nausea afterwards."

Shock hit him hard, his mind leapt to a single conclusion. Immediately, he denied the thought not wanting to believe it but it kept coming back. His body began shivering and a cold sweat swam down his spine and forehead as real horror and terror hit him. Not that kind you got when you were a child when you saw a movie monster for the first time. No. Pure, real, instinctual terror backed by a disgusted horror like that when one sees a corpse well into it's process of decay. He went through the thought process one more time. When teenager was brought to the hospital, Dr. Kanou, the resident doctor replaced his damaged organs, specifically his kidney, with Rize's, who was a ghoul. Since then, everything tasted absolutely disgusting and he was filled with nausea till he threw up. Just like Ogura said ghouls did when the ate human food and, just to top the shake with a cherry. Earlier today, a ball had rolled over to him belonging to a little girl and when he handed it back to her, her scent wafted over to her and he was filled with predatory hunger.

He had rolled over and laid back down as he thought but when the memory of the little girl came back to him, he became starved. He then shot up and muttered. "Hungry?"

Kaneki leapt off his bed, charged his fridge, tore it open and began devouring everything that was in there. Apples, oranges, cold burgers, milk, everything that he still remembered would and should be edible. Pausing only to threw it all up. As did all this, he did a stray thought entered his mind.

 _In one of Kafka's most famous stories, a young man turns into a giant insect._

 _The young man who became an insect…_

… _saw his taste in food change._

 _He could no longer eat fresh foods._

 _He began preferring things like rotting cheese._

 _If my taste in food changed…_

… _what's the "cheese" for me?_

He fell back onto the floor, laying down, his entire food stores scattered around him, every piece missing a chuck, tears streamed down his face as he seeped. He cried. "Why? Why me?"

* * *

Marcus sat at on bar stool at Anteiku's bar top, sipping at a coffee with his left hand clumsily. He's primarily right handed but his right hand is currently incapacitated in a black cast and a sling. Like he had predicted, Akira had a cow, and a horse, and a bull, she had a whole farm when he showed up at her door, obliterated arm held in a make-shift cast from a small and thin metal bar, sterilized, and bent to match the contours his wrist and arm was supposed to take, wrapped in bandages. She couldn't sleep for hours after that, constantly fretting over him. Teetering on the edge between absolute flaming rage with the need to tear apart whoever did that to him and near suicidal worry for him. After he had clearly and coherently explained what happened her and made sure she understood it equally as clearly and coherently, past the inherited motherly instinct, she calmed down and passed out on the couch two minutes later. The next morning, they set out to the research department and got a full arm cast. He came to Anteiku afterwards not able to work but willing to be mental support.

"So, how long are you going to have that on?" Asked Koma as he poured hot water from a pot into a coffee filled filter which dripped into a coffee pot.

It was late afternoon on a week day, so it was busy and he had to choose his words carefully. "The doctor said that it was a broken ulna and that takes six to eight, but that's for a human adult. You never know though, I'm younger and heal faster. Might be five weeks."

Koma nodded understandingly. The translation worked like this. By saying that it was a broken ulna and took so long to heal it set not just a time frame for how long Marcus had too wear the cast but everyone who heard, purposefully or otherwise, believed it. Whoever's listening would expect to see that cast for at least six weeks, and Koma and company would have a time frame for keeping the broken arm charade going. When the British ghoul stated that the estimate was based off the healing rate of an adult human followed by the data that he was a fast healer, changed that sentence's meaning when a ghoul heard it. Ghoul's have insanely quick regeneration, rinkaku's even more so. A ghoul could heal a fractured ulna in a day. Thus when ghouls calculate the healing time, instead of using weeks and months as units, they used days. A ghoul heard it as six to eight days possible five.

' **Well maybe you shouldn't have decided to punch a bloody tank!** ' Xeno scorned.

Marcus growled back. 'Maybe you shouldn't have chosen to take a random beauty nap.'

' **You shouldn't have fallen for such an obvious trick.** '

'Touché.'

"Idiot." Touka ridiculed, as she switched places with Koma who finished brewing the pot of coffee. "You could've conceded instead of busting your arm."

"Could you?" He shot back knowing her answer. She just glowered at him. Marcus ignored it. "You're right though. It was stupid, but losing didn't seem appealing. A tie seemed much better."

"Knowing when to cut your losses and fight another day, is good knowledge to have." Yoshimura said, appearing beside Touka.

"Bloody Hell!" Marcus exclaimed, jumping. The chair he was in tilted backwards and he let out a yelp.

Touka calmly reached across the counter caught him by his black shirt which sported a red pentacle with archaic writing circling it. She pulled him and the chair back into place. When she let him go, Marcus looked at his bunched up shirt, and pouted as he smoothed it out. Touka rolled her eyes. The dark haired ghoul wore the shirt and a pair of a jeans. He would've worn his Nostromo jacket but the cast doesn't allow for that. He couldn't even stick his hand through the sleeve.

Marcus glared. "I thought I asked you to not flash step. You're gonna scare the wrong bloker one day."

"But I told you," Yoshimura insisted, as he had before. "I'm walking normally."

This kind of banter had been commonplace in Anteiku, within the last few weeks following Marcus' induction into the staff. Yoshimura did it quite frequently to the younger ghoul, scaring the ever living crap out of him, much to everyone's amusement. The old man did it in a form of hazing for new employees, although he means it in all good fun. The Brit dubbed it the 'Flash-step', named after an ability in a manga that allowed a person to travel great distances near instantly, and deathly quiet. An accurate description. Touka simply called it, 'getting quiet in his old age'. Though she sympathized with him. She had been on the receiving of that for several weeks herself.

"Hello, sir."

He nodded towards her. "Hello. I don't mean to interrupt but I need to talk with Touka."

"Sir?" She tilted her head confusedly. Marcus just raised his eyebrow.

"It's about the thing you asked of me a few weeks ago."

She nodded and followed Yoshimura as he led her into the back kitchen. Marcus watched them go, alarms and questions raising in his mind. He knew that he shouldn't be alarmed, the manager swore to keep his identity a secret and he kept it so far. Touka had asked the older ghoul something and that could be anything. The British ghoul did remember his suggestion to Touka to ask the founder of Anteiku to use his contacts to research Akira as gesture of good faith. It was pretty likely that's what the oldest ghoul meant. The kakuja chimera contemplated eavesdropping on them but remembered that trust was a two way street. The manager brought Marcus into his small but important organization, knowing full well who he was. Yoshimura trusted him not to start tearing into his employees because the younger kakuja got a craving. Even though the No-Eyed-Demon probably wouldn't get past two inches before the old man ground him into pieces and shoved them through a fine mesh. The trust was still there. It was fair to trust the old man back. The eighteen year old let him go on this long without doubt, no point starting now.

Touka and Yoshimura stood in the kitchen behind the shop, on the table sat a thick manila folder. The Manager picked it up and handed it her. "Sorry, it took so long to get this but here's everything that I was able to get on Akira Mado."

Touka took it and opened it. Inside was a thick stack of papers held together by clips. It was divided into five sections by tabbed dividers. Labeling each section were case names and Touka recognized some of them, especially the last one. 'Femme Fatale'. The name they had assigned to the prostitute ghoul devoured men as she screwed them. The top page was a basic profile page. Name, height, weight, things like that, including a profile image in the top left corner. Most of it was pretty plain and rather unimportant to the female ghoul, even the nicknames and alias, despite the hilarity of some of them, are pretty small. Especially when they were compared to what she learned on the second page.

"Sh-she's part of the Reaper's team ?" Touka asked, startled.

Yoshimura nodded. "It is indeed a surprise. To think someone from so high up in the CCG chain of command is a frequent customer to our shop."

"That's not exactly a positive thing." She stated while flipping a page. "How she'd even manage to get up there? Don't you have to be a certified badass."

"That's one way of putting it but yes." The elder ghoul affirmed. "Actually, it's curious. When you look through her academy records, she only put in average effort. Then, suddenly seven years ago, she started excelling at everything and became really concerned with ladder climbing."

"Wait." Touka said. "Seven years? Isn't that-"

"-how long Marcus says he's been living with Ms. Mado. Yes." He seconded. "I noticed that too, so I thought it would be best if my informant dug a little deeper. Turn three pages."

Touka did, bringing her to the last page of first section of the profile. It was an incident report. The date would set it exactly seven years ago in a month from now. She read it and a sick feeling grew in her stomach.

"That... that's horrible."

"It is. Although, the report states that she lost consciousness and when she came to, they were dead, but that's officially. Unofficially..."

"Unofficially..." The girl finished. "A ghoul could've shown up and helped her, the ghoul got hurt, she helps him and the ghoul gets attached and she keeps him as a faux son."

"Seems most likely." Said the elder ghoul.

Touka closed the folder. "Thanks."

"Of course." Yoshimura said. "So, what now?"

She laughed. "Don't know. Didn't plan on Marcus actually being right."

He nodded, he thought that it would probably be best if he didn't mention that on three of the cases it was reported that she had contacted an informant that showed up personally and the case was solved within the next three days. However this rift in trust was becoming problematic. Nothing some commonality can't fix.

"Listen Touka," Yoshimura said. "I've met Marcus met once before."

"Is that you let him join us, because you knew him?"

"Actually, it was because I didn't know him."

The Younger ghoul tilted her head in confusion to which the elder explained. "Ten years ago Marcus was entirely different person. Actually if I had to compare him to someone I would've compared him to your younger self. Cold and indifferent but unlike you, he was too far gone to have a second chance. If that Marcus had come looking to join Anteiku then it would've… ended differently. I honestly thought that he couldn't change like he has but here he is. Give him a chance. You may be surprised."

Touka sighed. "What's with all the trust lessons lately?"

"Because it's a good thing to know."

She nodded. "I'll try, sir."

He smiled. "Well, that's good. We should probably get back to work."

"Of course." The Teen agreed.

Yoshimura turned to leave and was about to turn the corner to the hallway when she called to him. "Uh… sir!"

He hummed in response, pausing to look at her.

"You seem like you know his past pretty well. Is there anyway you could tell me?" Touka asked hopefully.

The old man smiled faintly. "I afraid I really don't know all that much. I had only met him once and that was more in passing. All I can do is make assumptions. Besides it's not my place."

"I see." She replied, a little downtrodden.

"Don't be afraid to ask him though." he said reassuringly. "He's probably going to be more willing to be straightforward with you than anyone in anyone else. Though I do warn this."

She perked up attentively.

"His past represents some dark times for Marcus, and he won't like revisiting it. So don't expect too much when you first ask and he clams up. Take it easy. He'll tell when he is ready."

"Ok."

With that Yoshimura left, leaving Touka alone on the back kitchen with her thoughts. She, honestly couldn't keep up her petty little grudge anymore. Not when she understood him far better than before and far more personally. The manager had said that the two youngest ghouls of Anteiku were similar in their younger years. She wondered if he knew just how much he was on the dot he was. He probably did. Yeah, she was cold and calculating but that's not where the similarities ended. Like Akira with Marcus, Yoshimura had pulled her off the streets and gave her a life to work with, a life worth living. She respected him and was loyal to him, like Marcus to his mother. She had been told many times that she was thick headed. Guess they were right.

Although, a thought nagged at her. She opened the file again and turned the incident report to make sure. She knew this particular brand of the Gas Mask gang. They weren't nothing nice. Each strong enough to hold an A class rank, but together had earned S class or possible SS, if they were allowed to continue. If her and the manager's theories were correct then Marcus took them down at age eleven. Barely a child. Just who or what was he, if he could do something like that.

* * *

Kaneki roamed the alley ways of the twentieth ward, his hood pulled over his head. The sun had long sunk past the Tokyo skylines. He had to get out of his apartment, all the food scattered around had started to reek. Bile threatened to rise up, just the mere memory of the taste nearly made sick. This had to be hell, he had died and gone to hell. His entire life was unraveling right before him. Why? Why was this happening to him? He was just a normal person, who went to a normal college and did normal things. What did he ever do to deserve this?

"You're showing a lot of leg." A voice said, male, and dripping with lechery.

A female voice exclaimed, distressed. "Hey…"

Kaneki looked up to see in the light of a lamp that was installed on the building that made up a wall of the alley, two people. One was grabbing into the other 's wrist while guiding them towards the wall. The assertive one was an obese man. Wearing black slacks and white button down with the sleeves rolled, a black tie around his neck. His eyes were closed as a lewd smile spread across his features, his cheeks tinted with red from arousal. The person he was pushing towards the wall was a teenage girl, aged sixteen. She wore jean short shorts and a tight fitting black tee-shirt. She chin length violet hair that went down over one of her violet eyes, the right one. She was petite and very cute. He recognized her, it was that girl Hide was flirting with. Touka. And it was quite obvious what was happening to her.

His eyes were locked on the girl with the gaze of a lion. Her skin was smooth and creamy, just flawless. He could just imagine sinking his teeth into that. Her legs were toned muscle but had a little fat on them which would make them juicy and tender. Just like his favorite hamburger. Then her waist, slender and curved, the shirt outlining her stomach. The kind of waist that gave boys in her age group, including him, wet dreams. But that wasn't the best part. The best part about her waist were all the entrails inside. The anticipation made his mouth water. He wanted to kill the lowly meat bag that was stuffed with too much far, tear open the flesh of the girl and see what human flesh tasted like for himself.

Touka couldn't believe she was stuck in this situation. Getting molested by a disgusted old pervert in an alley. It was like something out of a movie. If he really knew what she was, he'd be shitting his pants. The shop was closing up for the day, and she was in her room settling down after the when she had noticed that she was getting low on tampons. She was on her way out when Marcus stopped her at the door to tell her that someone had been watching all day, full on stalker style. She blew him off because she thought that he was pulling her chain. Which was stupid as she should've know he wouldn't joke about something like that. Especially what nearly happened to his step mother several years ago. Nonetheless, she was stuck her dealing with this asshole.

"What are you looking at?" Said the human who noticed Kaneki. Kaneki just ignored the fat morsel which angered the man. Touka looked over at the older teen, she didn't recognize him but there was a sense of familiarity.

"Hey, you! Hey!" He let go of Touka and stepped towards the other teenager, reachong out to the developing half-ghoul. "Don't you ignore me! Don-"

" **Don't touch me!** " Growled the older teenager while he glared at the old pervert like he was some insignificant ant. Unknown to him, his left eye had transformed into the red iris and black sclera of a kakugan.

The forty year old stepped back in horror. "What's with your eye? It's disgusting!"

Kaneki looked at him in shock and confusion, his sense starting to come back to him. ' _Eye?'_

Touka sighed, annoyed. ' _Stupid idiot, can't control his eyes. That's asking get killed._ '

The man shouted terrified. "You monster!"

Getting well past annoyed, Touka swipes out her hand and took off the top part of his head from below the eyes up in a clean cut. A few drops of blood splattered onto Kaneki's face. The pervert didn't even have time to process what just happened. The body fell to ground while the chunk of head tum led to the ground a few feet away.

Touka hissed, her kakugans flaring in the dim light. "You piss me off."

Kaneki stared at her in shock.

She sighed, willing her eyes back to the normal colors of white and purple. "Aww man, I killed him…and I wasn't even really hungry. Maybe I'll just take an arm. Old man meat's gross though." The purple head reached down and grabbed his arm before yanking it off at the elbow.

Kaneki looked at her with shock and hunger. _This girl.._

"What?" Touka asked when she noticed his staring and held up the arm. "Do you want some?"

… _is a ghoul!?_

His single kakugan formed over his eye again as he was filled with a nauseating hunger, but he didn't act on it. He just stared in shock. She was a ghoul. Touka was a ghoul. He couldn't comprehend how. When he last saw her, she was a shy girl, easily embarrassed. How was she this cruel monstrous creature? She couldn't be, it was impossible. No way.

"So, did you want this or not?" Touka walked over to him and crouched in front of the college student. "You're not gonna eat?" As she crouched down she got a closer look at his face and noticed his single kakugan. "Hey, only one of your eyes are red…that's kinda weird. Wait."

She recognized him finally. The short black hair, dark hair and the sheepish features. It was the guy several weeks ago but… "Why weren't you eaten?"

A moment of tense silence passed between. Then Kaneki broke it by screaming and running off into the night, Touka staring after him in confusion. He ran. All the way to his apartment he didn't stop for anything, screw that. He hauled ass until he was inside the loose safety of his home. It was terrifying how close she was to him. To think that he frequented that coffee shop near daily for weeks. How many other ghouls were that close too? How many does he pass every day on his way to school? If he kept thinking like that, he would go insane with paranoia. And she just tore off a man's arm, like she was picking an apple off a tree. It was all going to hell.

Touka still stood in the alley, frowning at the arm. She threw it to the side angrily. "What is he? Pisses me off."

Next day, Kaneki lay in his bed, nestled in his sheets. More than content with disconnecting from the world. After all, he really didn't belong in it anymore. He wasn't human anymore and he wasn't entirely sure he was a ghoul either. He had no idea who or what he was. If he didn't know that how could he go back to the world. An outsider like him would have no place to belong in society. Ghoul or human. He was all alone, again. His cell phone started to ring and he peeked at from the covers. Watching it as it vibrated on it's position at the table where it was charging. Kaneki ignored it not in the mood to deal with anybody. It rolled over to voicemail.

"Hey, Kaneki. How're you feeling?" Came Hide's bubbling voice. Kaneki sat up more attentively. "You're not coming to classes. If you wanna see my notes for Asian history. I'll bring them over. The writing's messy so they're hard to read, though. If you need them send me a text. But knowing you, you've probably read it all in the book already. Ah, books, that reminds me. There was a book signing with Takatsuki what's-his-name at the bookstore in front of the train station. You like him, don't you? …Though I guess if you don't feel good you can't come. Well, anyway, later…"

Kaneki remembered the event that Hide was talking about. Sen Takatsuki was holding an event at one of his favorite bookstores. He had wanted to go but… Could he now, in the condition he was in? He couldn't stay locked up in here forever. Right? He had to go out eventually. Why not now? Besides it would be a nice change of pace. Maybe it would get his mind off of this. Maybe by bringing back some normalcy into his life everything else would become normal too. Kaneki chided himself for wishful thinking as he climbed out of his sheets and bed and started throwing on some fresh clothes. Black pants a dark tee-shirt and a blue sweater. He pulled the hood over his head as he walked out the door. Locking it behind him.

Only to find out that the entire trip was pointless. He stood outside the book shop in front of the station. Right in front of the big sign that said. "Takatsuki event, now closed."

"Of course, it's over." He muttered out loud. 'I'll go home and continue reading _Black Goat_.'

Kaneki turned around and walking back home, his hands stuffed in picket of his sweater. He shuffled along and until a crosswalk made him stop. He waited for the signal to turn green with a large crowd of people. When it did, everyone resumed walking and going about their day but not Kaneki. He was half way across when he stopped. His stomach started growled when a delicious scent reached his nose. He shifted his from side to side to watch the people pass by him, oblivious. It was like a lion as it watched a herd of gazelle pass. Deciding which one looked more tasty.

 _People_.

 _People._

 _People._

 _Children._

 _People._

 _People._

 _Woman. Flesh._

 _Girl. Flesh._

 _Man. Flesh._

 _Family. Flesh._

 _Children! Flesh! Girl! Flesh! Woman! Flesh!_

 _Flesh! Flesh! Flesh! Flesh! Flesh! Flesh! Flesh!_

" **FLESH!** "

Kaneki gasped in shock as he realized that he shouted out loud. The swarm of people were parting around him like a river around a stone. The hunger inside him was so intense it was practically alive. Gnawing at his logic and common sense. Begging him with animal like intensity, to pounce at somebody, to partake, to eat. He was so hungry. He wanted to be satisfied, for it to no longer hurt and it would be easy. Just a simple, pretend to be sick and ask someone to take him to the hospital. And as they walked away, he would wait until they were alone then he would kill them and enjoy a real meal. No! What was he thinking? He can't do that! He's human! Eating people is wrong! He's not a monster!

He bit down on his finger to resist the temptation. That's when he felt it. He felt his eye get all funny and he remembered whet the man said last night. He had said that something was wrong with his eye. He remembered the feeling when he daydreamed about killing Touka. He shot forward like rocket, bee lining for his apartment. A sense of Déjà vu breezed by him but he was too terrified to notice. He shoved past people with reckless abandon. He even knocked over an old man in a white trench coat with an attaché case. A tall younger man with black hair shouted after Kaneki but the old man eased him down. Not that Kaneki noticed.

The half breed finally made it to his apartment. He hurriedly pulled out his key and unlocked it, shoving the door open, nearly tearing it off it's hinges. Kaneki sped across the apartment taking off his shoes as he went, like he was supposed to. Though he nearly tripped and face planted in the process. He stumbled into the bathroom, pulling back his hood so he could better see his face in the mirror. And there it was. The kakugan. Wide and intense. The red iris nearly glowing in the near darkness. The eye. It was like Rize's when she was trying to eat him and like Touka's when she killed that man. He was becoming a ghoul. For a second and just a second, in the mirror's reflection, Rize flashed behind him smiling her sweet and saccharine smile. Screaming in half anger, and half terror, he punched the glass.

"I know what's causing this!" He growled as he pulled out his phone, storming into the living room. He called hide as he powered up his laptop and by the time it finished, Hide answered the phone. Kaneki calmed his voice as he opened up the browser and started an image search. "Hello, Hide?"

"Hey, Kaneki! What's up?" Kaneki's friend replied, ecstatically.

"Hey, could you bring me the notes from Asian History?" Kaneki asked as he found the image he wanted.

"Sure man, as long as you tell me what's been up with you the past few days."

"Yeah…thanks." Kaneki paused as he swallowed nervously as he studied the image of the human anatomy, especially where the kidneys were. "See you."

"Anytime, pal! Later!"

Kaneki hung up and set the phone to the side, leaving it unlocked and face up. As he walked into the kitchen, he thought this out. He know what the source was, it was the ghoul organs from Rize they had put into him. It was the only explanation. The college student drew a kitchen knife from the knife holder and bunched up his shirt into his teeth. He would rip the damn kidney out. If he was lucky and hit it, he could have another one transplanted. If he got lucky. He studied the image he pulled up and inverted the held the knife and raised it. Just in case he wasn't able to call an ambulance, Hide was coming over with his notes. The rest is just withstanding the pain.

Kaneki hesitated for a second or two before tightening his grip on the knife. "Ok…Here it... goes!"

He slammed the knife into his stomach with an adrenaline filled howl. Only for the blade to snap in half when it made contact with his skin. The piece went careening across the room.

"Wh..what?" He gasped. He dropped the knife and fell back onto the floor. Hopelessness filled his voice. "What do I do now?!"

* * *

Touka bent over the table wiping it down for the day. Anteiku just closed it does a few minutes. Enjoying the peace and quiet, she continued about her work. Then her serenity was interrupted by a creeping presence behind her and Marcus whispered in her ear. "I told you so."

Her moment of peace gone by the hundredth reminder of her mistake last night, she growled as she slammed her fists on the table. "That's it! I'm gonna kill him!"

Marcus immediately leapt back, giggling like a school boy as the girl picked up one of the chairs that was by the table, and hefted over her head. She wasn't sure if she would throw it at him or beat him with it. Both sounded like a really good idea. She was about enact her plan of torture when Yoshimura cleared his throat. Touka stopped mid swing and looked at the manager slightly horrified. Marcus was still grinning and trying to stifle giggles and was failing miserably. Koma and Irimi who were spectating, were laughing, though one was nearly killing himself laughter and the other was being much dignified about. Respectively. Yoshimura had his poker face of a calm smile, which was always more terrifying that an actual expression of anger.

"Touka." Yoshimura said calmly. "Could you please not use the furniture to harm your fellow employee?"

"But he deserves it!"

Which he did. Marcus had been annoying her with that all day long. She had already told the others members about the night before and when the other teenage ghoul came in that morning, she figured he should know and told him. Obviously it was a big mistake. At least he expressed concern for her for a few seconds before jumping into the teasing and the 'I told so's.' She was curious why he was so interested in the guy that showed up last night, but Marcus didn't answer. Nonetheless, She would've snapped earlier but there would've been an audience. So, she had using every scrap of willpower not shove his head up his ass, as entertaining the thought was. Now though, when it was just them ghouls, all bets are off. Or would've been off, if Yoshimura hadn't intervened.

"And I'm not denying that." The elder ghoul agreed.

Marcus indignantly shouted. "Hey!"

He was ignored, and the manger continued. "I just ask that you don't use the furniture."

"Fine." Touka sighed and set the chair down. She turned around and pointed a finger at Marcus. "This isn't over."

"Don't doubt that all." Marcus answered, grinning.

Yoshimura sighed tiredly. "Touka, could you please turn off our sign?"

"Sure." She said coarsely, though it was directed towards Marcus.

Touka walked across the room and stepped outside. Before she closed the door, the girl poked her head back in and stuck her head back in. The girl stuck her tongue out at Marcus, very childishly, including the humming sound effect. Marcus returned the favor in full with his own tongue equally as childish. He smiled at her afterwards affirming the joking tone they had the entire time. The door closed before he could see it but Touka smiled, if faintly. Yoshimura walked back to the counter with a knowing smile on his face. Marcus picked up the rag that Touka tossed on the table during her attempt at harming him and started wiping down the tables. This is one thing he could do single handedly that would help out.

Touka walked down the stairs with a really faint smile in her face. Marcus was, at times, a pain in her ass but he was a breath of fresh air around Anteiku. So few people came by that were her age, let alone in her age group. Nishiki didn't really count as he came over so few times and he's just an absolute asshole. And her only age similar friend was at school. Yoriko lived too far away for her to visit regularly, which was kind of disheartening. Though with Marcus as an employee at Anteiku, she kind of hoped that Yoriko never did visit. The human would never let it go that such a hot boy was in range and the ghoul never made a move towards him. Touka paused at the bottom of the steps. Did she just call him hot?

Shaking her head and turned off the lamp that was their sign. Someone walked up to her in a blue sweater. "I'm sorry, the shop's closed…oh."

Standing in front of her was Kaneki, his hood pulled up again and his head tilted down. A sullen expression on his face as he pleaded. "Please… help me. I beg of you!" He dropped to his knees, completely prostrate.

If there was anything that could kill Touka's mood faster, one would be very hard pressed to find it. Her eyes iced over with emotional coldness as he continued his groveling.

"There is no other person besides you who can help me…" He started crying, bawling might be a better word. "Ever since I've had this body, everything is terrible. Please… help me."

"No."

Kaneki's head snapped up in shock.

Touka thought this was absolutely pathetic. As far as she could tell he was a human that got turned into a ghoul by some unknown means. He then comes whining to her about how being a ghoul made everything terrible. Just who in the hell did this guy think he was? He came to a ghoul to complain about being ghoul. Fucking idiot. God dammit, she had been in such a good mood three seconds ago. Leave it to a human to take that mood tear it to shreds. Whining about how terrible his life had become. Did that mean that her entire life was terrible? Oh, she's pissed off now. And he gets feel every damn bit of it.

"From those eyes and what you're saying, I see you were originally a human and now you're a ghoul." She scoffed scornfully, her voice was a growl. "Teach me, former human. What does cake really taste like?"

Kaneki looked at her shocked and confused.

"It's so disgusting it makes me want to puke, so I don't really know." The distaste on her face was more than evident. "But Humans seem to like it like it's good, don't they? Or donuts or tarts… How was your life not being hunted by anyone? Your days spent not having to live in fear of the Center of Counter Ghoul or other ghouls gone insane? So, tell me! 'Everything is terrible?' Don't make me laugh."

She glared at him to the point she may have burned a whole in his forehead. "So, what about me? For me, it's been terrible ever since I was born. Who could help you? Idiot. Go off and die on your own."

"Touka." Yoshimura said from behind Touka, stopping her verbal beat down of Kaneki. He had heard the entire conversation from inside and had come out to ease things down. "That's enough for now."

"Sir?" Touka queried.

He looked at Kaneki with a sympathetic face. "It must have been hard."

Kaneki looked on in surprise, as he gestured to the stairs and the door. "Please come in."

Touka looked sharply at the manager and shouted. "But why?! This guy, he used to be human!"

"He looks like a ghoul to me." He stated in answer. Touka opened her mouth to argue but was silenced when Yoshimura opened his a fraction and stared her down. "Giving aid to fellow ghouls is our policy, isn't Touka? I thought you would've learned that by now."

Touka clamped her mouth shut, using silence as affirmation but she sent Kaneki a sharp glare to which the college student withered under. Yoshimura closed his eyes again and gestures for the black haired teenager to follow him. The half-ghoul stood up and shuffled after the older gentleman. With a scoff Touka followed them, arms crossed. The three of them stepped inside. Marcus and the other two members were sitting at the counter. Marcus was drinking some coffee like he always did before heading home. They were talking about something when they walked in but stopped as soon as they noticed there as additional company. Koma and Irimi were slightly surprised by Kaneki, though they were otherwise unperturbed. Marcus looks like he had seen a ghost and he recognized that ghost.

"Please wait here." Yoshimura said and walked into the back room.

Kaneki nodded and just stood there. Touka huffed and walked over to one of the tables before slumping down in a chair and resting her head on her head. Her eyes were closed and a deep and infuriated frown on her face. The college student nervously.

Cleared of the shock, Marcus stood up with the coffee filled cup and walked over to the fellow black-hearted, holding out the drink. "Here, drink up."

Kaneki stuttered. "B-but, I-"

"Don't worry." The British ghoul appealingly grinned. "Trust me."

"Uh…okay."

Kaneki took a cup and looked at it nervously. He knew it would be disgusting just like other human foods. Why would a ghoul give him a drink? Is Marcus trying to poison him? Then a pleasant and warm scent reached his nose. He followed it. Right down to the beverage in his hands. He couldn't believe it. The coffee smelled good…really good. Could it taste as good as it smelled? He brought the drink to his lips and took a sip. Warm liquid spilled over his tongue, it bitter but smooth flowing. As odd it might sound, the coffee tasted like coffee. He couldn't help he ended up chugging the whole thing, much to Marcus' annoyance. The half ghoul enjoyed every drop, this was the only human thing he's had that wouldn't make him sick. He even felt his hunger subside a little.

"This is great!" Kaneki exclaimed then he noticed Marcus' vexed look. "I'm sorry. Was this yours?"

Marcus waved dismissively. "It's fine. You needed it more than me."

"Thank you, this will be a great help." He handed the cup to the Jade eyed ghoul.

Marcus took it. "Anytime. Note this though. It may partially stage the hunger but there's only one way to really satisfy it."

"Okay."

"And the longer you avoid it, the less of an effect the coffee has."

At that point Yoshimura walked back into the room holding a six inch by two inch by four inch orange yellow package that was insulated. He stepped to Kaneki and handed to him. "Come back when you need to. No need to be shy."

Kaneki swallowed nervously.

 _Am i…_

 _Really going to…_

 _Eat human?_

"Uh… thank you." Kaneki said, nodding. He turned and left quietly.

Touka clicked her tongue. "Why did you help a guy like him?"

Marcus answered. "Did you hear about the organ transplant that happened a few weeks ago?"

"Heard about it but didn't hear the details." She answered.

Marcus set the coffee down on the table Touka was sitting and stuffed his unobstructed hand into a pocket and leaned back against it. "The surgery involved two teenagers that were caught in an industrial accident, when a bunch of steel beams fell on them. That's official story anyways, but not the truth."

That earned him a bunch of eyebrows and confused looks. Marcus gave them the explanation they wanted. "All of you saw Rize take an interest in Kaneki couple of weeks ago and leave here together. I had been pretty sure who she was and followed them. I barely made it in time, even though it didn't really matter. The steel beams fell on Rize and missed Kaneki entirely. She had dealt two wounds to him. Bite wound to the shoulder and a hole punched in his stomach. Here's the kicker. The wound, as far as I could tell, didn't go anywhere near his kidney."

"Wait, are you saying that what's happening to him is deliberate?" Irimi asked.

Marcus nodded. "If I had to guess. Yeah. The kakuhou is the ghoul's version of a kidney, so it works in theory but there's no way that it was done accidentally. They're too different."

Touka tilted her head. "How do you know all this?"

"My doctor's one of the researchers in the CCG. He had explained that they had thought about making half-breeds but the project got shelved when it hit morality issues."

That definitely made everyone one pause. There were a lot of things to consider about what they just learned. First, Marcus' doctor was a researcher at the CCG that was interesting but it was relatively minor. The fact that there was once a program to create half breed super soldiers would be something to keep filed. The biggest thing everyone had there minds on was the surgery that was performed on Kaneki. It could honestly mean quite a few things. This could just be an accident. Rinkaku type kakuhous are around the area where the kidneys. Of course the surgeon would've have to be an idiot. This could be the workings of a new age Frankenstein, who gets his rocks off on swapping body parts. Or, there's some kind of third party without running around, acting out their will in the shadows. That last one was a terrifying thought on it's own. Without enough evidence there was no way to really say which theory was right. But what's life without a good mystery every now and then.

"I'm gonna head home." Marcus said as he started walking to the door. "See you guys tomorrow."

He stepped outside and started walking down the stairs. Usually, Marcus goes right towards the inner wards of Tokyo where he lives but he turned left. Where Kaneki was concerned, he thought it best to assume the worst case scenario, which meant that there was a third party. Especially, considering that Souta or PG as he went by nowadays, was the one to drop the steel beams. He was a part of the Clowns who were about as manipulative as Aizen. That's what the rumors say anyways. It'd also best to anyone that Kaneki was somehow involved in the whole thing. The kakuja would try his best to watch the half breed but there was no guarantee he could keep an eye on him the entire night. Besides it would be a good idea to at least where his house is when the shite hits the fans. He turned and started rushing off after Kaneki, unaware of the eyes that were watching him.

On the roof of the building across from Anteiku were two people. One was standing while the other one sat on the edge, kicking their legs. The one that was sitting down seemed very child like accented by their shortness. The person was entirely covered in medical bandages and wore a hooded red cloak that had drooping ears on the hood. She had a white floral scarf around her neck. It was difficult to tell but the person's petite body identified her as female. The person who was standing right next to her biggest feature was that he was albino. He had the white hair and red eyes with the pale skin. Though since he was Japanese, he just looked Caucasian. He had on a long white coat and sported and iron mask that covered the lower half of his face. The girl started giggling, it's childishness made disturbing by the distortion on of the bandages.

The man raised an eyebrow at the girl. His deep voice distorted by the mask. "What's so funny, Eto?"

Eto started giggling harder, using a hand to cover where her mouth would be in an innocent gesture. Her voice was as child like as the rest of her. "It's just funny, Tatara."

"What?" Tatara persisted.

Her laughing settled. "Oh, it's just that so many paths are crossing and some of them don't even know how connected they are."

He nodded understandingly. "Yes, it does seem that nearly all of his children have met."

"Not all, they're spread out too widely for that to happen."

"Not unless he becomes the apex."

Eto looked up at Tatara. The shadow her smile made was visible on the bandages as she enunciated. "Ex-act-ly."

He shook while sighing. "We need to get going before we're discovered."

The Albino turned and walked away, while the mummified girl stood and looked over the rest of Tokyo. "You're children have come far, Kanou. So what would you have them do now?"

* * *

 ** _This isn't the whole chapter unfortunately. Wanted to include Episode two/rest of the first volume but unfortunately one of my teachers hit me with this big assignment that i had to direct my attention towards. So this is part one of the Egg Of the Black Goat._**

 ** _Reviews:_**

 _ **StormAPTX-626: Thank You. Thought it was time for a flashback to explain their relationship. Glad you enjoyed. Then the cosplay, that was spur of the moment . Cool that it worked out.**_

 _ **: Go ahead. I might join you. Thank you.**_

 _ **Cliffhnager247:**_

 _ **1)Glad you enjoy the dual personality concept. Thought it was more than fitting for Tokyo Ghoul. If you think that Xeno is a Bad-ass, just wait. He hasn't cut loose**_

 ** _2)Ship is in progress. Will it float or will it sink? Couldn't have Kaneki not be a ghoul. Too important._**

 ** _3) With cliffhanger in your name, you kind of set yourself up. Wanted to show Marcus had skills and abilities beyond Xeno. Can't use Kagunes, would reveal his identity_**

 ** _Next time: Kaneki delves deeper into the realm of ghouls. Can he fight his new inner demon or will he fall to it:_**

 ** _Egg of the Black Goat: Part 2_**


	7. Egg of the Black Goat: Part Two

Kaneki sat on his bed that very same night, the package on a table to his right. His stomach rumbled with renewed and invigorated hunger. Marcus was right the coffee had only staved it off but he had hoped that it would at least stay away for awhile. Though, he never satisfied it ever since he became whatever it is he had become a ghoul. Maybe it was too strong for the coffee to slow it down anymore, or at least at any great length. He clutched at his head trying to keep himself seated in reality but it wasn't enough. He continued keeping his hold on humanity, clutching his head to the point where it felt like he was crushing his skull. His feet started tapping agitatedly. His life was over now that he was a half-breed.

Then there she was. Rize. She traced a hand on his TV before leaning on it. "Who cares if you're sitting on both sides of the fence?"

She began vanishing from place to place in the room. She was now sitting on his bookshelf knees tucked against her chest, cheek resting on her hand. The mental apparition spoke in a thoughtful tone. "Neither human nor ghoul…"

"You're still you." She sat on a chair, legs crossed before appearing on his bed, in a lazily seductive position head resting on arms. "Cherish this life as a half-breed. An appetizing meal of flesh awaits after all."

"That lusciously alluring taste…" Rize flashed behind Kaneki, wrapping her arms around sensually, her tone of voice gaining a sexual tint to it. Kaneki watched her kakugans form and her smile turn snake like. "Just one taste, and you'll be instantly hooked. It'll give any steak a run for its money." She licked her lips wolfishly.

No longer able to resist it, Kaneki screamed a predatory howl and dropped from his bed to the floor on his knees, in front of the table the package sat on. He reached for it as the deceased ghoul flashed behind him, arms once more wrapped around him. She crooned. "Now, go on. Feast yourself on this flesh. It has been prepared extra rare, just for you."

Growling, Kaneki latched onto the package and started trying to tear it open with his bare hands. He was so unbelievably hungry. It hurt. He wanted the pain to go away and if this would do it then damn morals. A nagging thought reared in the back of his mind. It said that he shouldn't do this, he was a human! Humans don't eat flesh! Kaneki snapped at the voice for to shut up but it persisted. Soon it started wrenching at Kaneki for control, droning on about stupid morality. What did it know? Instinct is the only thing in life that matters, it is the guiding light for everything that breaths. It guides lion that hunts, it guides the gazelle that flees, it even guides that Rabbits that fuck all day long. The voice made a single reminder that pulled it, Kaneki's sanity and humanity to the forefront. He wasn't an animal.

Clenching his teeth and hands around the flesh filled package, he growled. "I'm not losing to you."

Kaneki spun around with the package in hand and swiped at the specter of Rize while throwing the package into the wall. It hit with a solid sounding thump. He leaped off the floor and into the kitchen. He began tearing through the cabinets tossing cans of food, paper plates anything that was in the way of what he was looking for. Once again, his kitchen was a mess and had just cleaned it yesterday but he found it. The small can of coffee he had stored above the sink. He took it down and removed the lid. He only had a few ounces of it left. But it would have to do. He dipped his hand into the container scooped some coffee grounds into his hand and started eating them raw. It wasn't exactly a gourmet meal. But the hunger was vanishing or at least subsiding. Enough for him to be sane. At the cost of losing the rest of his coffee and a mess on his face.

He turned on the faucet and wiped his face of the coffee beans. Turning off the water, he sighed. "If I have any chance at getting through this I'm gonna need more coffee. I feel sane enough for a quick trip to the corner store down the street."

Kaneki straightened his clothing, making himself look little more presentable before he heads out. He started hunting for his shoes and when he found them, he slapped them on. The half ghoul exited the apartment, locking the door behind him and started walking. There was a corner store half a block away, so there wasn't time for something to really happen. Nonetheless, the walk over was uneventful. He even passed some Humans without getting hungry, though they still smelled good. Which made a kind of disturbing sense to him. Steak can smell good to a human even though they aren't hungry. It would make sense that the same kind of thing would apply to ghouls.

Kaneki made it to the store. It was like every other corner store. Small, on a corner, gas station in front, graffiti on the side and a faded sign. It really wasn't all that special. The college student stepped inside and immediately started looking for the beverage aisle. He found it quickly – signs for the win – and the instant coffee, too. The shelves and shelves of instant coffee. He estimated at least ten brands were there and he bet that if he counted, there would be more, a lot more. That was an exaggeration there was only fifteen, but fifteen was more than enough to make him indecisive. He rarely bought coffee, so he had no idea which one would taste better. If he was going to live on it for the rest of his life might as well make sure that it's good. Kaneki reached for one of the brands. Someone else reached for it too and they bumped hands accidentally.

The half ghoul brought his hand back quickly. "Uh, sorry."

"No problem." Replied a smooth male voice as he grabbed a can of instant coffee.

He was about Kaneki's age but a whole head taller. He had youthful features but a strong chiseled jaw. His eyes were cold and expressionless he was lean, thin but muscled, a sort of runner's build. He had hazelnut hair that was a bit messy. Over his topaz colored eyes were rectangular half-rim glasses. He had on a blue jacket over a lighter blue shirt and khaki pants. He stood tall and proud but had a hand in his pocket in a symbol of laziness

"Blondie is the best of the instant brands, you know." He said. "Has a real flavor, you could say."

"Oh, uh… th-thanks." Kaneki stuttered.

"Anytime."

The guy took his instant coffee, went to the clerk and paid for it before leaving. Kaneki reached and picked up several cans of the brand that guy had suggested before paying and leaving himself. He began the short walk home. He looked at the bag full of coffee and thought that it was a lot of coffee. The half-ghoul believed that this should be enough to keep him sane for a good while. If he drank nothing but coffee every hour every day. It seemed kind of ridiculous to him but it was better than the alternative. If full ghouls could keep from going nuts and killing everyone then a half-human should be more than capable of doing the same. He wasn't losing to her, not to Rize.

 _What's that smell?_

A pleasant and sweet aroma reached his nose and a hunger started stirring up a hunger in him. It wasn't the bestial drive like earlier. It was more like a childish hunger when you're not hungry but then the scent of your mom's home cooking reaches. You suddenly get really hungry and nothing else can satisfy it. Kaneki couldn't believe it. There was something that he can eat. It actually existed. If he can find it and figure out what it is. Maybe he won't have to live off of coffee. Maybe he might be able to go to school again and move on with his life. Leave this whole thing behind thing behind him and forget. Kaneki started running, following the scent, to his possible salvation, to the end of his nightmare. He went into some dark alleys, turning and twisting, delving deeper. The bag of coffee lost somewhere along the way.

"It should be just around the corner!" The half-ghoul exclaimed, his left eye turning black and red.

As soon as Kaneki turned the corner, he froze; the expression of glee still on his face but mixed with shock and horror. In that far off alley was a corpse of a freshly killed man, just slain a few minutes ago. His body was torn open like someone had taken a can opener to it. Crouching over it was another man, middle aged wearing a trench coat and had black hair. His face, around his mouth, was coated in blood, fresh and dripping. His eyes were glowing with that of a ghoul's. He tore out a chunk of flesh from the corpse and started eating it like it was a burger. The sound of tearing flesh and the scent of blood permeated the area, and it made the half-breed hungry. Kaneki dropped to his knees as reality started crashing around him, and the stark cold realization hit him.

 _I was pulled in by the scent of a corpse!_

The college student started sobbing, gaining the attention of the other ghoul. "Why are you here? What, are you crying? You're a ghoul, right?"

The older ghoul was ignored. Growing annoyed, and believing that the kid was trying to steal his meal, he growled. "Hey, kid. This guy is mine. You're throwing me off. Get outta here."

Kaneki kept crying.

"Hey, you listening, you dumb shit? I'll ki-"

Before he could finish his threat, someone grabbed his arm and placed their foot against his head before promptly kicking it off. The body part went flying followed by a spurt of blood and landed a half a dozen feet from the boy. Kaneki's eyes widened as the murderer stepped out of the shadows. It was that guy from the store who helped him out. He even still has the plastic bag that held the coffee he bought.

"Sheesh. I said, don't go having a meal on my feeding grounds." The taller college student sighed as he saw Kaneki. "Now here's one more unwelcome guest. Wait."

He stepped closer to get a better look. "You… I met you at the convenience store earlier. So you're a ghoul. My kindness is my downfall. If you were a human, I would just eat you." His eyes flared to life with kakugans.

"So, you're a ghoul. Huh? Explains the coffee. What's up with your eye?" He scoffed. "Whatever. What matters is that this is my feeding grounds and you're trespassing."

The tall ghoul reached down and grabbed Kaneki by the neck, before hoisting him up and slamming him into a wall. The full-blooded ghoul had no issue with keeping the shorter teenager from touching the ground with his feet.

"Don't ever come into my territory." The hazelnut haired ghoul growled. "If you're from the twentieth ward here, you at least ought to know that. You've pissed me off anyways. Invading my territory."

"You're wrong!" Kaneki exclaimed. "I had no idea this was anyone's property! I don't have anything with that other ghoul!"

Tilted his head in mock understanding. "Imagine this. You find your lover naked and broken and in the same place is a man you don't know, stripped from the waist down and he says, 'I didn't do a thing. I just happened to be here". So? Do you believe him? If it were me, I would kill the bastard."

"This isn't your feeding grounds. Nishiki." Said a woman's voice and from above Touka dropped from the roof. She changed her clothing. It was a school sailor uniform. White blouse, red bow and a dark blue skirt. Complete with knee high socks and brain shoes. "They're Rize's."

"Touka." The now named Nishiki replied scornfully. "Last I checked that binge eating dead. Which means they're mine."

"You bloody idiot." Said another new voice, male with a hint of a British accent. Around from the same corner that Kaneki came from, Marcus walked in wearing the same clothing as earlier. "I may be new around here but I'm pretty sure that assigning hunting grounds is a job that belongs to Anteiku."

Nishiki sent the Brit a wilting glare. "Who the hell are you?"

The kakuja replied pleasantly as though he was meeting a new friend. "Call me Marcus."

"What are you doing here?" Touka hissed.

The green eyed ghoul pointed a thumb at the half-breed. "Was keeping an eye on the starving child over here."

"Whatever!" The Hazelnut haired male interjected. "These were my grounds before Rize took them and now they're mine again. So, get off!"

Touka scoffed. "You know this tiny back alley was stolen from you because Rize was stronger. If you want to blame something. Blame your own weakness."

Scowling, Nishiki dropped the newcomer to the ghoul world and stalked towards the only girl in the group. "Being treated like a fool by an upstart impertinent brat really pisses me off."

Touka sped forth in a near blur and dropped down, entering a slide and swiped her hand out as she passed Nishiki. The red glow of her kakugans making a streak of red light. At first, it looked like nothing happened to him, that he stumbled from an unseen force. Marcus barely saw it himself. Her hand moving at nearly imperceptible speed inflicting dozens of shallow cuts. In the span of fewer than two seconds. It was startling fast, categorizing her as an ukaku ghoul. It was equally as shocking when she had inflicted so much damage in such a short time without the use of her ghoul claw. Marcus certainly felt impressed. She slid to a stop a few feet from Kaneki and straightened.

The Hazelnut haired ghoul spun around in a roundhouse kick aimed for her head. Before she could react to it Marcus stepped in and raised his cast-covered arm. Blocking the full ghoul strength kick without faltering. He shoved the leg aside and cocked his arm back, shattering the cast and delivered a solid uppercut to Nishiki's chin. The tall Japanese ghoul stumbled back and the British ghoul stepped forward landing several of his quick light jabs to the opponent's abdomen. The Kakuja leaped back beside Touka as the regular ghoul stumbled back several more steps clutching at his stomach.

Touka was startled. Nishiki had always been a trouble maker, so this wasn't the first time she had to deal with him. So she's felt a full strength from him before. He's no lightweight and hits, or rather, kicks like a tank. To take the full brunt of the strike, with a broken arm, without flinching. He didn't even tap into his ghoul strength as is evident from his obvious jade eyes, even in this darkness. Of course, it only made sense. If he could toe to toe with a great white shark like Yomo, then dealing with a catfish like Nishiki shouldn't be too hard. Although his arm was broken, to the point of near disintegration and it's only been a day. He should be screaming in agony but he's shrugging it off.

"Hey, Touka," Marcus said.

"Yeah."

"You can take over." He started to groan in pain as he held his broken arm. "I'm done."

Marcus stepped off to the side as Touka stepped forward. "Idiot. Well, thanks for softening him up."

"Holy shit." Nishiki gasped, he doubled over in pain and the shallow cuts Touka had inflicted had surfaced.

"What's the matter? Would you like us to go harder?" She said in a cocky tone.

With a grunt of frustration, Nishiki turned and ran. To which Touka scoffed. "At least pick up after yourself. Damn, guess I can ask Yomo to deal with it."

Xeno's laugh echoed. ' **Pussy**.'

"What is this?" Kaneki gasped. "Just what are ghouls? They kill people, little to no connection to their fellow ghouls. They have no concept of morals or order. This kind of… this world is the worst!"

'What did that punk just say?'

Marcus doesn't get angry. He attests to that very strongly. He's had to keep a calm mind when dealing and controlling the raw instinct of Xeno. Anger always kept it's distance from Marcus. Actually, it can apply to a lot of negative emotions for him. However, something about what Kaneki said. The way he generalized ghouls. Assuming them all to be without morals, killing people. He didn't say it directly but it was there in his tone. He was calling ghouls monsters. That was it. How close it hit home. The reminder that he himself was a monster. One that he didn't need.

"This meat needs to be eaten." Marcus growled.

Kaneki gasped. "As if I could eat it. I'm a human! Not a-"

"A ghoul?" The Brit interjected as he walked towards the human dead body. "Or a monster? You were gonna say monster, weren't you?"

"Marcus?" Touka whispered, stunned by his sudden anger.

Kaneki stuttered. "N-no. I didn't-" but was interrupted when the British ghoul reached down with his good arm and tore a chunk of flesh out of the human corpse.

"But you did." The Jade eyed boy turned towards the scared ghoul with a wrathful expression. "Let me make something clear. You're part ghoul yourself, so that makes you part monster, and like all monsters, you gotta eat."

"I'm not! I swear I'm human!"

"Since you too helpless. I'll help you."

Marcus rushed towards Kaneki with the flesh in his hand and shoved it in the half-blood's face. He lifted the book reader off the ground and into the wall. The shorter haired ghoul pulled and tugged at the limb holding the meat to his face. It was done in such a way, the clump of bloody muscle and sinew was directly over his mouth, while the hand blocked his nose and air supply. When the college student tried to take a breath the flesh went right in. Then his mouth was held shut. He tried fighting it. Writing and writhing to get free but got nowhere. Eventually, he couldn't resist the instinctual urge to swallow.

A surge of pleasure went through Kaneki and his body froze. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. It felt really good, it was near indescribable. Just that mixture of satisfaction and near sexual release. It also did a lot more than that coffee did to help his hunger. It was the greatest feeling in the world and felt so… so… wrong. He was human. He just ate human flesh, there's no way he should feel like this. But yet. It was incomparable he can't even think of something that came close to creating such a feeling of sensation. The nineteen-year-old even felt slightly stronger than before. He briefly wondered if even sex could compare to this. He wants more, to keep feeling this feeling.

More.

 _More_.

 _ **More**_.

 _No! I'm human!_

Kaneki finally fought his way out Marcus' single handed hold, not that the stronger ghoul was trying anymore, and stumbled his way to the side. He jammed his throat and forced himself to throw up.

The Brit watched in disgust. "Just eat, you fucking idiot."

"But I can't!" the weakling wailed. "I was wrong to eat that meat. That was what I thought and I looked desperately for another way. Even so… this is not what I want. This is not the way! H-human meat? There's no way I can eat it! How could I possibly eat it? Because I'm human! I'm not like you _monsters_!"

Yeah, no. Marcus was done with this shit. He reached down and grabbed Kaneki by the throat before throwing him into a nearby wall. The angered ghoul stepped in and started pounding on the helpless student. Using only his left hand, he delivered undisciplined and rage driven hooks and jabs. Turning the half-ghoul's face into a bruised pulp. With each hit and each punch, he could feel Xeno's influence pushing him, making him harsher with each blow, and for once he didn't fight back. He was too pissed for that. He reached out and pulled the cause of his wrath into his knee before slamming the guy into the ground. A kick was slammed into the in-denial ghoul's stomach. The kakuja reached down and hosted the other male up before slamming him into a wall again. He let go and was about resume his beat down when Touka came up behind and grabbed his arm.

"Ease up." She insisted. "I'm all for teaching him a lesson, but calm down."

Marcus snarled, it almost sounds inhuman to Touka, and he dealt Kaneki another blow. Touka hugged the Brit from behind and held him back. She cooed. "Ease up. Ease up."

The foreign-born ghoul focused on her voice, her breathing, her heartbeat. He let the anger drain out, with a calmer mind Xeno lost his influence. The alt-personality was done anyways. His heart slowed from its adrenaline rushed state till it was steady, followed by his breath, till he's calm.

"Thanks," Marcus said gruffly.

"Uh, yeah," Touka said self-consciously as she let go of him. She had accidentally felt up his muscles. He was amazingly toned for living the sheltered life she thought he lived. "Anytime."

"I'm heading home. I need another cast." Marcus turned and started walking away.

Touka and Kaneki watched him till he vanished around the corner. The half-breed tried getting but Touka raised her foot and planted against the wall beside his head. "Don't think you're off the hook. I only stopped him because I didn't want to deal with the mess. Got it?"

Kaneki nodded vigorously and Touka continued. "Both of you have a point. Yeah, you're not a ghoul. But you're not a human either and personally, that's what I think makes you a monster. As someone who can't be called either, there's nowhere you belong. Keep putting on human airs. Bring yourself to starvation. Find out what happens. Just know this, starvation is literal hell for a ghoul."

She dropped her leg and walked away, leaving Kaneki in the alley. When Touka made it around the corner, she paused and wondered. She told Kaneki that she stopped Marcus because she didn't want to deal with the mess. However, for some reason, it doesn't feel like the truth. Well, having to deal with a beaten to death half-breed would certainly be troublesome it wasn't her concern. She kept thinking that glare, how cold it was, how foreign and alien it was on his face. She didn't like seeing him so different than that smiling idiot she's come to expect day after day. The thought of him being stained with blood just made her upset. She was equally concerned with why he got so angry. Being called a monster isn't a compliment but he took personally. It had her worried.

She rubbed her face and thought. 'Get it together, Touka. He's fine. Just needs some sleep, like you. Tomorrow, he'll be back to his normal goofy self."

Next day, Touka sighed. "You had to jinx it."

Half an hour had passed since they opened the shop and Marcus came in, with a new cast. Followed by Akira, surprisingly, and an aura of "talk to me and they'll be scraping you off the ceiling". He sat down and ordered his usual black coffee in a tone that was so sour, she double checked the coffee she was pouring to make it hadn't gone bad just by being near him. Since then he had been sitting at one of the tables tapping a finger on the table so hard that it was scuffing the wood. As he hasn't shattered the cup when picking it up or holding it. He also hasn't been outwardly angry towards other people. Not that anyone has actually tried to approach him.

Akira was sitting at the counter, with her on her overly chocolate drink, looking just as distressed as Touka was. "You wouldn't happen to know why he's like this? Would ya?"

"Yeah," Touka admitted somberly.

"Help me."

The young woman nodded. "Well, how much has he told you?"

"He got as far as following Kaneki before getting grumpy." The blonde sighed.

"Good enough a place to start as any."

Touka explained the events that occurred the night before, in a heavily edited and shortened version. For the sake of time and anyone else who was listening in.

"Why did it set him off like that?" Touka asked. "I didn't like being called a monster either but it really seemed to rub him the wrong way, almost personally."

Akira sighed. "Marcus grew up on the streets ever since he was eight."

"So did I but-" Touka attempted to reply before being interrupted.

"Before that, he ran in the twenty-fourth ward."

That made the payment violet haired girl falter. The twenty-fourth ward isn't an official ward, it's Tokyo's underground and packed full of the worst ghouls imaginable. It was called the twenty-fourth ward first by the CCG for the simple purpose of labeling but it stuck with everyone else. Down there, there are no morals or rules except for one. The weak die and the strong survive. The rule of nature. To survive there at such a young age, even for a year or two, the things he had to do. It made Touka shiver and not many things could do that. It also made her feel sympathy and that was a shorter list. It also made last night make much more sense to her. He probably did a lot of monstrous things and didn't need a reminder or that label. How do you not take that personally?

"I see." Touka muttered.

Akira stirred her drink absentmindedly. "I only know a little about what he did but it's enough that I want to forget too."

"Yeah." The ghoul said softly as she watched Marcus. Looking at him now, she noticed that he looked less angry and more sad.

The older woman noticed the girl's worry filled gaze and had a feeling that she could do more for the boy question. So, she suggested. "Hey, go talk to him."

"What?" Touka exclaimed, startled at the request.

"Talk to him."

"What can I do?" She asked indifferently. "He's probably not willing to listen anyway or doesn't want to be spoken to."

The investigator smirked knowingly. "That how he looks, yeah, but trust me. If anything, he wants somebody to talk to and I _know_ you can do a lot more than I."

The teenager thought about it. "You sure?"

"Yeah." The step-mother assured.

Touka nodded and walked around the counter towards Marcus under the watchful gaze of Akira who commented. "How can they both be so dense?"

"I think it's more denial on Touka's part." Yoshimura said, seeming to have appeared out of nowhere beside Akira.

"I bet." She sighed and turned back towards her drink giving the two lovebirds privacy.

Touka stopped in front of Marcus' table. He hadn't noticed her approach. She got over but she had to be honest with herself, she had no idea what she was going to say or even how to approach the topic. She wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. For a brief moment, she thought about just letting it go and going back to the counter. Then she remembered last night and how easily she had calmed him down. It barely took her any effort and he listened to her. Maybe that was why Akira told her to do it, because he listened to her. While that was a confidence boost, she still had no idea what she was going to say. Maybe she should wing it. After all, some of the best speeches were on the spot.

Exhaling, Touka sat down in the seat across from Marcus, who still hasn't reacted to her, so she attempted conversation. "Hey."

No response, he was just staring into empty space. Though he had stopped tapping his finger. Touka though it best if she just talked.

"You don't have to talk just listen. Your…mom," It was still odd for her to refer to an investigator as that. "Told me about the twenty-fourth ward."

"I know." Marcus said, his voice rough.

"You should also know that was over a decade ago." She stated firmly, leaning slightly so that she fell in his gaze. "Who you were then is different from who you are now. Don't let the wounds of the past damage you now. They're just scars."

"But that kind of scars don't fade." Marcus countered. "They stay with you, they're a part of you and they don't go away."

"That's when just learn to live with it. It's your past, that can't be changed. Move on. Forget the scars. Focus on the now and the future. The important part." A line that Yoshimura had once said came to her mind. "It matters not what you've done up to now. What does matter, is what you do from now on."

He paused in thought before bowing his head. "You're right. You're right. I let it get personal. He was just scared."

The Brit got up to head towards the door but was stopped the female ghoul when she got in his path and braced a hand against his chest. "Where are you going?"

"After Kaneki." The eighteen-year-old replied. "He still hasn't eaten. It won't be long before something happens."

"I'll take care of it." She responded before she had a chance to actually think about it. 'What did I say? Too late, roll with it.'

"Really?" Marcus asked, surprised also.

She nodded. "Yeah. I've got a sick day I can spare. I'll keep an eye on him. Don't worry."

He smiled softly. "Thank you."

They found each other lost in the others eyes and they unconsciously shifted closer together. It's that one moment, that sort of mythical moment. Where it seems like it's just you and that other person, no one else. That intimate moment. When you want it to be just you and that other. Touka and Marcus were experiencing it first hand and they wanted to be alone. Their hearts were racing and their breathing heavy. It was a new kind of rush, one they hadn't felt before and it felt really good. It was the desire to be in each other's company and savor it. It was unfortunate for them that it had to end. They realized how intimate they were being and became flustered.

Touka took a step back, her face tinted red like Marcus'. She said. "I should, uh, get going. Where do I, uh…?"

"Umm. Kamii university." Marcus replied. "He would want to find somewhere to belong. That's where his friends would be."

She nodded. "Ok."

As she turned and started walking towards Yoshimura to get the day off, Marcus fell back into his chair. An unrestrained grin formed on his face.

That was it. The ghouls have taken the last place Kaneki had to belong. He had come back to school as it was the last place he had where he felt like he belonged. Of course, the only thing that kept the truth about him being a half-ghoul from being revealed was a single eyepatch. However, ever since he met back up with Hide he's felt the most human in a while. Maybe if he could control his hunger, he could continue on with his life. Then in, parallel with his luck the past three days, Nishiki, the guy that nearly killed him last night. The first one. He is right here in the same room and is acquaintances with Hide. Just like that, his entire life was blown apart.

"Kaneki, you try helping look too." Hide suggested.

"Huh?" Kaneki said, stupefied.

Nishiki urged. "It's more efficient if you look over there. Come on. Get a move on."

"Okay?"

… _Somehow, he's so normal?_

The full-blooded ghoul hummed in thought. "Not there, is it? Would it be alright if we give up now?"

"No. Please keep searching." The only human in the room pleaded.

"Ah, damn." Hazelnut haired student realized. "I took that disk back to my house."

"Wha! For real!"

"Don't make such a fuss." The tallest male sighed. "If it isn't a big deal we could go get it."

Hide sighed. "Dammit, I need that data. Sorry, Kaneki. I'm gonna have to hit by Nishio's place."

Kaneki wasn't paying any attention and hadn't since Nishiki suggested going over to his place. He was paying attention to an image that kept replaying in his mind. It was an instant replay of that middle-aged ghoul getting his head kicked off by the ghoul in question. However, he kept seeing it in an edited version. Which was more horrifying to Kaneki than the real events. He kept seeing his best friend's head getting sent through the air and landing beside. He couldn't let that happen, not to Hide. What could he do? The only way a ghoul could hide in a college campus other than deceit was that there had to be no witnesses. If he tagged along, Nishiki wouldn't kill Hide. What Kaneki didn't know was that the full-blooded ghoul was counting on it.

"Is it okay if I go too?" Kaneki nervously asked.

Hide raised his eyebrows confusedly. "Huh? Uh… no, you need to get some rest and besides, Nishio and I are going to share some pervy talk."

That's when Hide noticed how skittish Kaneki looked. As his best friend, he always knew all of his little quirks besides being able to read people. He could tell something was up. Something had his dark haired friend scared beyond belief and it had something to do with Nishiki. He had to go with them, even of it was for peace of mind.

"It's okay if he comes along, right?" Hide asked the hazelnut haired student.

Nishiki shrugged. "It's not like I'm showing anything in particular. No need to make such a fuss about it, Nagachika."

He laughed timidly. "N-no. I just thought that it'd be awkward since it's the first time you and Kaneki met."

"And I'm saying that it's okay." The eyeglass wearing male said as he pulled out his phone. "Before we go, I need to make a phone call."

As Nishio went off to the side, Nagachika sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "What's with you suddenly?"

"Err… Um… I…" Kaneki stammered. "S-since it's been so long since I went out. I thought that just returning alone would be wasteful."

The orange head hummed in thought before shrugging. "Well, since Nishio seems fine with it, I guess it doesn't matter. I wonder if he's calling that girl from earlier."

"Hide, are you good friends with him?" The dark haired boy asked.

"Nishio?" His friend answered. "In all the days we've spoken there's never been a time that I don't get the feeling he's poisonous. I might actually hate him."

"I see."

 _Why are all these ghouls popping up around me?_

 _No._

 _They've always been there. I just never knew how to look._

After they sorted everything out, the three of them headed out into the streets of Tokyo's twentieth ward. Kaneki was surprised at how human Nishio acted. On the way to the ghoul's house, he suggested some Taiyaki. The half-breed couldn't believe it. Why would he suggest something he can't eat? It would be the quickest way to reveal his identity. But, to the dark haired boy's increasing astonishment, he actually ate it! Without any visual or outwardly disgust. He even seemed like he enjoyed. It was an act, he was aware of that. However, it was so perfect. Nishiki had to have been used to eating human food and hiding it. If the ghoul newcomer hadn't been aware of the ghoul, he would've thought he was human.

"This is a dead end." Hide pointed out.

Kaneki looked up and saw that they had been led to a dead end. Then he realized that they had been led to a dead end and tried to warn his friend. "Hide!"

Too late. Nishiki swung his leg out and kicked Hide into the end of the end of the alley, knocking him out . "If he caught a glimpse, it'd be troublesome, right?"

The half-breed tried running to his friend but the other ghoul reached and grabbed the front of his hoodie and hoisted him up. He said. "It was unexpected for there to be another ghoul on the same campus as me. Yet, at the same time you still…"

He leaned closer and sniffed. "How disgusting. You smell like a female ghoul. Did you really think that you could go on happily like this? How did I not notice you?" He saw that Kaneki was ignoring him completely and was looking at Hide.

"Are you worried about Nagachika? Ahh, I get it. You were gonna eat him, weren't you?" A manic grin grew on his face. "The moment when you betray an idiot who believes in you and when their anguished expression emerges. The looks of hopelessness and such from other humans just don't stimulate one's appetite the same way, right? You think so too, don't you? Don't you?!"

"You… you mean." Kaneki gasped out. "I was going to… eat… Hide? Who in the hell… would do something like that? I'm different from you!"

Snarling, Nishiki brought his arm back and jammed his flat hand into the dark haired ghoul's stomach like a dagger. Easily piercing the flesh and causing him to cough up blood. As the injured student fell to the ground, the uninjured one scoffed. "Touka. That idiot woman said the same thing. When some idiot junior looks down on me and says things like that that. It really pisses me off."

"Looks like your body is incredibly fragile. I think it's kinda like piercing Tofu." Nishio suddenly felt sick to his stomach and he started moving towards where Hide lay. "Geez. Whenever I move I start to feel sick. It must be that Taiyaki I ate earlier. To think humans eat that stuff of their own free will. It's the same as eating horse-shit."

He brought his hand up and jammed it down his throat, forcing his gag reflex, causing him to throw up all over Hide. He wiped at his mouth as he stepped on the human's head and he said. "Sorry about that, Kaneki. Looks like I got your snack a little dirty. This guy has been your friend for a long time, right? Just when in the hell were you planning to eat him? Were you waiting for a good situation where you could attack him? The place is pretty important, too. Come on! Tell me!"

"He's not food." Kaneki insisted weakly.

"Oh?"

The half ghoul rose to a crouch and demanded with a stronger voice. "Get your foot off him."

"What foot?" Nishiki asked sarcastically, as he raised his foot and stomped on the helpless Hide's head.

"Stop…" the eye patch wearer pleaded as he continued to rise. Nishio just stomped on the human's head again. "Right now!"

The dark haired ghoul charged using his bag as a club which made the full blooded ghoul laugh. "Attacking with your bag?! What are you an old lady?!" As Kaneki swung, the Hazelnut haired ghoul dodged and retaliated with a roundhouse kick.

Kaneki was sent flying with startling ease, hitting a height of ten feet in the air at the top of the arc. He flipped and tumbled end over end. He hit the ground after twenty feet but still had enough inertia to keep going. Sliding and rolling for another ten feet before slamming into a concrete wall. He coughed up blood as the wound from earlier was agitated. Pain, lots of it, thrummed through his body. He felt plenty of scraps and bruises, he was sure at least one bone was broken.

"What do you think? About my kick? If I really went all out, not even Touka or Yomo wouldn't be able to beat me." Nishiki bragged. Incorrectly, considering the events of the night before. He started walking towards the incapacitated ghoul. "I don't get you. Humans are just food to us, just like beef is to them. Why pretend to be friends with food? Is it fun?"

"I'm not." The wounded ghoul stated. "I'm not pretending."

"Is that so? Let's say that's true for now. I think it's pretty dangerous to be hanging with Nagachika. He appears idiotic but he's actually smart. He's also perceptive. Hell, he tried to get you to leave before we got here because somehow he sensed my intentions."

When Kaneki thought about it, that statement made a lot of sense. Hide, ever since their early childhood days, had always been able to read his mood perfectly. It seemed like he had amazing intuition. He always thought that it was because of their friendship. He never thought that the same feeling extended to everyone else that associated with the human. If he was that perceptive though it really could be an issue. How would Hide react when he found out his best friend was a ghoul? Would he turn him in? The half ghoul thought that there would be no way that would happen. He would never betray anyone.

"Lemme guess," Nishiki said. "Since you're wearing this eyepatch, you can't control your eye. If that's the case won't be long before you're discovered."

He reached out and flicked off the eyepatch revealing the uncontrolled kakugan as a point and antagonized. "You know, to solve the problem now I should kill Nagachika."

To his pleasure, Kaneki got pissed and started fighting back, albeit pathetically. His swings were slow and sloppy. Nagachika used little to no effort to dodge each punch. To him, it was like fighting a tired child. The half-breed swung right and he leaned left, then a fist came left and he leaned right. Kaneki felt just as pathetic as he fought. He knew that there was no way he could do anything to this guy but he had to try, for Hide. That plan went out the window when the full-blooded ghoul snapped out his leg in a kick that sent the dark-haired ghoul flying again. He landed into a pile of steel beams and sheet metal that was close to where Hide lay.

"Damn," Nishiki exclaimed. "No effort at all. I had hoped you would at least be somewhat entertaining. Might as well end it."

His Topaz eyes were replaced with the black sclera and red eyes of Kakugans and the kagune formed, tearing the top of his pants leg. It was a Binkaku type, azure in color, in the shape of a tail as thick as his thigh and four feet in length, ending in a fork. It snaked down from his tailbone would be and wrapped around his leg. Jagged lines ran down its length like blood veins and at the ends it turned green slightly. He started walking towards Kaneki until Hide's hand shifted over and hooked on his pant's leg.

Nishiki stared down curiously and said. "He is unconscious, right? Just in case." He raised his kagune wrapped leg over Hide's head. "Goodbye, Nagachika."

Kaneki's eyes widen as he saw Nishio wind up the death blow and willed his body to move. It only half way obeyed. He only got it to partially sit up, but it fought every inch it moved and hurt a lot. As he reached for his best friend in his attempt to at least crawl to him, he collapsed in pain. The half-ghoul could remember every moment his friend had been there for him. Every low moment in his life the human had been there for him and now, when it really counted, he couldn't pay him back. He couldn't get off the ground and save his friend. At this rate, they were both going to die.

 _I don't want that._

He got one foot under him and under his clothes near the small of his back, something bulged.

 _I can't let it happen!_

A second foot. He rose shakily

"I won't allow my friend to die!" Kaneki declared as his clothes exploded where the bulging was and three scaled tentacles, blood red in color and as thick as dinner plates stretched out to their full length of ten feet, the form of a rinkaku kagune. "I won't let it!"

One of the ghoul weapons flicked out at Nishiki at a speed that betrays their size. Reaching out further than what would be expected, it thinned out as it stretched. The full-blooded ghoul dashed to the side avoiding the strike. He lashed out with his own kagune which was blocked when the tentacles folded in front of the dark head. Blue clashed against red in a fit of sparks. Kaneki latched on to the bikaku with his arms, legs, and kagune. Snarling, the hazelnut haired ghoul brought back his tail, bringing the half blood in the range of his kicks. He tried for a kick at his opponent but one of the red tentacles unwrapped from the tail and blocked it. The shorter ghoul leaped off the tail and stabbed all three of his rinkaku into his enemy's stomach, the sudden shock causing the full ghoul to dissolve his kagune. He continued stabbing him in rapid succession with enough force to keep Nishio off the ground.

"Stop it!" Nishiki begged. "You're killing me! I'm dying! Dying-dying-dying-dying-dyin-dyin-dyin-dy-"

His pleads and exclamations of death turned to garbled words and grunts as Kaneki continued his relentless assault. Each strike spewed fresh blood, covering the walls, the ground, the steel beams and sheet metal, Kaneki, and Hide. Finally deciding that it was enough, after turning Nishiki's abdomen into red Swiss cheese, the half-breed tossed the ruined ghoul to the side. He bounced off the wall and fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

"That was... Rize's… Kagune." Nishiki whispered before falling unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Kaneki slumped before looking to his friend and saying worriedly. "Hide."

Just when he thought it was over, his vision was overlaid with an orange tone and all the blood that painted across everything took on an unnatural glow. Rize, wearing that same dress as that day, appeared beside Hide and crouching beside him giving a poke to his cheek. She said. "He looks tasty. Such a fragment aroma. I'm getting hungry myself. Don't you see him? Isn't he just scrumptious?"

"Stop it!" Kaneki protested. "Hide isn't food!"

She flashed beside him and started whispering in his ear. "Are you sure about that? Take a closer look."

Kaneki did and against his remaining humanity, found Hide enticing and his hunger growing.

Above on the rooftop of a four-story building that looked over the alley, Touka watched as Kaneki slowly turned insane. "Damn. Marcus was spot on. Didn't last a day. Goddammit, I'm gonna have to save him. What the hell were you thinking, promising Marcus that you'd watch this idiot."

As the teenaged ghoul kept monologuing to herself, she didn't notice someone behind her. That someone grabbed the back of her, picked her up and threw her into a set of the large box shaped exhaust vents that sit on tall buildings. Hitting her head against the metal, she fell to the ground with a groan. She clutched at her pain filled head as she attempted to stand. She got up shakily and had to place a hand on the vent to stay balanced. She didn't stay up for long as the same person kicked her head into the steel box holding the fans. Putting a large dent into it and knocking her out cold. As she started slumping to the ground, Marcus reached and caught her. He laid her out gently on the ground, as gently as he could with a single usable arm.

"I'm sorry about the painful headache you'll feel when you wake up," Marcus said. "But I need to do this."

' **She's vulnerable.** ' Xeno said hazily. ' **Take her, devour her. You've always wanted to. Now's your chance.** '

Marcus had to hunt soon, Xeno is getting an itchy trigger finger. Tomorrow would be best but not with his arm the way it is, it would have to be a few more days. For now, he had to keep him at bay, especially for the next part. "Killing her would bring down Yoshimura's wrath. Which we wouldn't survive. At all."

Xeno growled but subsided. The Brit sighed. "Listen. Do this and you can go to the twenty-fourth ward and wreak havoc."

' **Just this?** ' The alt-personality asked skeptically.

"This and stay quiet for the next few days until our arm is healed."

Xeno paused then answered. ' **Fine.** '

"All right then." Marcus stood up and walked over to the edge of the roof overlooking Kaneki and Hide, taking off his shirt as he moved, setting on the ground. "Let's get it done."

With that, Marcus dropped from the roof and fell four stories and landed on the other side of Hide across from where Kaneki was opening his salivating maw to devour his best friend.

"Didn't last long, did ya?" Marcus said. "You've completely given way to your instincts. I know that feeling."

"Out of the way!" Kaneki growled.

The British ghoul mused. "Long time ago, I would've let you eat him then watched as you drown in regret and your friend's blood. That is where you are going."

The half-breed just snarled and pointed his kagune threateningly at the one interrupting his meal.

'Kick his arse. But don't kill him."

Marcus exchanged control of the body to Xeno who grinned while the long, sharp metallic teeth grow over his normal white teeth. " **I'll try but I can't promise anything!** "

Kaneki woke up is a room that was completely unfamiliar to him. It was the meeting room on the second floor Anteiku. He was laying on one of the couches with a plaid blanket covering him. He was even wearing different clothes than yesterday. A white T-shirt with black sleeves and black sweatpants. He sat up slowly and wondered where he was and why he was here. The last he remembered was heading to his campus to resume his life. Then he started to remember it all. Nishiki's deception, his defeat, nearly eating hide and… that _thing_. He remembered fighting it. If a fight is what you'd call it. It was an ass-kicking, pure and simple. The half-breed only managed to get in one hit but Xeno mopped the floor with him. That was when Kaneki became aware of his lack of wounds and of a lingering sweet taste in his mouth.

He brought a hand up to his mouth, a dabbed a finger inside before holding it up to look at it. It came out red. "Blood?" He wondered out loud.

The door to the room opened and Yoshimura walked in. He noticed Kaneki's consciousness. "Ah. You're awake. This is the second floor of Anteiku. Marcus brought you and your friend here."

Finally remembering his friend, the college student exclaimed. "Where's Hide?"

"You should come with me."

Kaneki nodded and got off of the couch to follow Yoshimura. They stepped out into the hallway and a few doors down was Marcus, leaned back in a foldable chair. His arm was in a brace and a sling, and he was shirtless, revealing bandages wrapped his midriff plus a scarred body. He had on a pair of sweatpants also and was wearing no shoes or socks. He was talking to somebody on his phone.

"Look, Mum. I'm sorry I broke my cast again but it's for a good reason. Trust me." Marcus said.

Akira retorted. "What would that be?"

"I'll tell you when it pans out if it pans out," Marcus replied softly. "Just trust me. I think you'll be proud."

She paused. Her anger easing off, it was more irritation. She knew that the cast wasn't going to last long, especially with his hunting day due soon. She just didn't expect two casts in two days immediately after his injury. She loves him but he could be a bit of an idiot at times and not think through his actions. It was moments like these where she can forgive his rash thinking. Ever since that day when she tripped in front of the PT line, Marcus has been adamant on trying to make her proud. Despite her assurances that she is proud, but he insists just like any other devoted son. He claims that it's for her, but she had a feeling that it's just as much for him. Some sort of assurance that his life in the streets was over, that he was no longer just an animal. So she lets him go. For her sake as much as his.

"Okay." She said softly. "Just know that I'm always proud."

"I know. Bye, Mum."

"Bye, newt. I'll talk to you later."

Marcus hung up and put the phone his pocket. He noticed the presences of Kaneki and Yoshimura walking down the hall and stood up. He greeted the half-breed. "Glad to see you're alive. Not many can claim that."

Remembering that the other dark haired ghoul was that thing that nearly killed him, Kaneki laughed nervously. "I guess so."

"You're looking for your friend, Hide. Right?" The abnormal ghoul asked.

"Yeah!"

"He's in here."

Marcus opened the door next to him and gestured for Kaneki to go inside. He did. Inside looked like some kind of storage room. There were metal shelves stacked with various supplies on one wall. Placed around the room were stacks of boxes, some boxes were open revealing more supplies. One looked like it had a bunch of old menus that were never used. The wall across the door was cleared enough for a mattress to be placed down. On it, Hide lay with a blanket, much like the one Kaneki had, covering him. Excited to see his friend, the half-breed rushed forward but stopped suddenly in the middle of the room when he realized that his persisting hunger was gone. It had been gone for a while, he didn't notice until now. When entered a room with a human.

"Ever since that day with Rize. My hunger has been persistent and intense. But now…" Kaneki mused as he dabbed his finger in his mouth again to look the blood. "This isn't mine. What did you do while I was asleep?"

Marcus leaned against the doorframe and said. "There's only one to satisfy a ghoul's hunger. I told you that. If you had continued like that for even a little longer, he'd be dead. By your hands."

Kaneki bowed his head. "I can't be with Hide anymore. Because I'm not human but I'm not a ghoul either. I have no place in the world anymore."

"You're wrong." The Brit interjected. "You have a place and it lies in both worlds where you can interact with both. Like me."

"Really?" The half-breed looked up at the abnormal in shock.

"Yeah. You saw my… friend last night." The other day haired ghoul shivered in horror at the memory. "That exists because of a unique condition to my body. I can't eat human flesh. To do so would be to poison me. Far worse than what human food could do. This gave me quite the reputation as a cannibal. No one knows except my stepmother, Yoshimura and you."

Kaneki shook his confusedly. "Why tell me?"

"Because we both live on the outside and the inside. I need someone to confide to who would understand. We walk a fine line between the two worlds and thus are the only ones who can peer into both without bias. So let's walk it together. Join Anteiku, learn to be a ghoul and keep life as a human. What do you say, Yoshimura?"

"No."

Kaneki sta __rred to the older ghoul in horror while Marcus stared in resentful shock. He gave that speech that he had been working on since he left Anteiku to find the starving half-breed. Then, Marcus frowned when he saw that Yoshimura was smiling and realized that was joking. Kaneki caught on too.

"Yes." Yoshimura said truthfully. "Another hand will be helpful."

Marcus turned back to Kaneki and held a hand for him to shake. "What do _you_ say?"

Kaneki wiped at a few years of joy threatening to spill from his eyes and stepped closer. "Uh. Yeah." They shook hands.

"Alright!" Marcus exclaimed, grinning. "Let's start with teaching you how to make a good cup of coffee."

"Sure."

On their way out of the room, they didn't see Hide smile. He had been awake for the whole thing and was glad his friend found a new friend.

Once Marcus and Kaneki left the room, Yoshimura closed the door and followed them as they worked their way to the downstairs kitchen. A steady thought entered his mind and he asked. "Marcus. Where's Touka?"

Marcus stopped in his tracks then face plates, groaning. "Shit. I left her on the rooftop."

Touka finally woke up and sat up. The first thing she noticed was that she was still on the roof top and the second thing was the splitting headache she had. "Dammit, whoever did this I'm gonna kick his ass! Ow."

 _ **9681 words.**_

 _ **That was part two, ladies and gentleman. And I got it done in two weeks.**_

 _ **Last month was the last month of school so that meant finals. I couldn't start working on it till the twenty-fifth. I actually might have got it done earlier if I hadn't gone to comic-con. But it was so worth it!**_

 _ **So, in theory. Updates should be more frequent over the summer at least twice a month. YAAAY!**_

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **StormAPTX-626: A love triangle between Kaneki, Touka, Marcus sounds like an interesting idea!**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

 _ **Laureano123: Sorry. Not this story. Might do a Non-canon side story or something.**_

 _ **MORE REVIEWS! Please?**_


	8. Storm Front

"Go! Go! Go!" Shouted a middle-aged man as he half shoved and half guided a slightly younger woman and a thirteen-year-old girl.

The older woman was slender and fairly tall with soft features though they were distorted were in fear as she ran. She had brown eyes and brown hair that is tied loosely in a ponytail that usually sat on her left shoulder. She had a torn and dirtied yellow sundress with a light orange, equally as torn, knitted jacket. The girl was in a short blue skirt, white blouse, and a yellow vest. She resembled the woman quite a bit and most likely is her daughter. Which made the man her father, he was lean and wore a white lab coat and an opera like mask. Which hid most of his features except for his five o'clock shadow and his dark hair.

They turned down one of the many alleys in the twentieth ward and after a few moments, Kureo came sliding to a stop before running after them with Amon close behind. Their attaché cases that disguise their Quinques were gone and in their place were the demented weapons themselves. The older investigator was a sword like, blue-green Binkaku type that came out of the handle so that it jutted out from the fist like a Katar. While the younger one held a large club attached to a long handle, great ax size maybe larger. It was blood red and lines like vines ran down the handle.

"What are we going to do, Asaki?" The woman asked.

"Be quiet." The male ghoul, Asaki, snapped sharply, though he hadn't meant to. After toning down his voice as much as he could under the intensity of the situation, he said. "They haven't seen your faces as far as I can tell, if they can't hear your voices then you'll stay that much more hidden."

She nodded and kept moving. Asaki looked around, searching for a way out of this situation. Then he noticed they were running past a three-story apartment building. He grabbed the woman by her waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder, who gave out a slight squeal beside herself. He then grabbed his daughter and held her under his arm. With a few steps he leaped onto the wall, kicked off it onto the other wall, higher up and continued like that, rising. Calling out to Amon, Kureo leaped backward towards him as the dark haired human swung the massive Quinque. It ended up so that Kureo had his feet braced against the red weapon before he was launched towards the fleeing ghouls. The old but agile man struck with his Quinque but was blocked by the male ghoul's kagune.

A long Koukaku type that was segmented like the body of a centipede, on the thin side of each segment was a curved spike and at the end was a bladed barb. Each segment was bone with a hollow circle in the center that had red flesh in it. Like an eye. Asaki had successfully blocked it but the attack came while he was mid-air and he lost some of his momentum, then started falling. Thinking on his feet he lashed out with his kagune extended it out, revealing red flesh connecting each of the segments. It reached the top of the apartment building and impaled the edge of the roof. He pulled them up with a grunt of effort and with enough force they flew over the roof and landed safely on it.

"Come on, Amon! This way! The entrance isn't far!" They ran towards the street which was on the other side of the building.

Asaki set his girls down and started shoving them towards the door that led downstairs. He had no idea it was up here, he just hoped it was and he was thanking God he was right. With a flick of his Koukaku, he tore the door down, and as they started descending down the stairs in rapid succession, he dissolved the kagune. The male ghoul slammed into the first door that appeared, which was the third-floor door. It opened with ease and he continued to lead the two things that sat at the center of his universe, to safety. He ran past a few doors apartment doors before slowing and eventually stopping in front of one. He carefully listened, focusing his attention on the inside of that one apartment. Once he was sure that there was no one inside he kicked the door in.

"Inside, quick." He ushered.

As they ran in, Asaki shut the door behind them, then sat the girls on a couch. They were breathing heavily and clearly terrified. Especially his daughter who clung to her mother, crying, while she was consoled by the older woman. This wasn't a solution. They would rush to the roof and when they didn't see them up there, a search would be conducted and the first place they were going to look was this building. Investigators aren't stupid, furthest from it. Especially these two. They most likely would put at the roof entrance and one at the ground entrance and there's no fire escape. Each second that passed the more they started resembling cornered rats. They didn't have a way out, unless 'they' didn't include 'him'.

"Listen, I want you to stay here," Asaki said.

The woman snapped her head up towards him with a look of disbelief. "What?"

"Wait ten, fifteen minutes…"

"No."

"…then run, stay to the alleyways…

"No!"

"…head straight for Yoshimura, he'll help you."

"I'm not leaving you!"

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her firmly. "You have to!"

As she was stunned into silence, Asaki calmed himself so he could explain. "It's the only way. If I don't leave, then we all die."

"Please don't leave me." She pleaded. "Please don't leave her."

He looked down to his daughter, who was watching him uncertainly and he felt his will crumble slightly. He didn't want to leave but he had to, for them. "I have to, it's the only way."

She looked at him hopelessly before slumping against Asaki and started crying. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered. "I know. It'll be fine. We'll meet again. One way or another."

She nodded the let go of him. Her eyes were red and irritated, and tears lines ran down her cheeks. Asaki took off his mask and handed to her. She took it, and he cupped her chin. "I love you, Ryouko."

"I love you too." She choked out.

He leaned down and kissed her then kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Goodbye. Take the roof exit, I'll lead them out the front."

As Asaki got up and left, the girl started crying out. "Where are you going? Daddy! Daddy, where are you going?! Where is Daddy going, Mommy?"

Ryouko hugged her daughter close. "It'll be okay. Daddy will be fine, he'll be back." She hated lying.

Asaki closed the door and moved towards the stairs. As he approached the door to the stairwell, heard thumps of feet against then come up it. Two sets. He waited till they ran past before entering the stairwell. Amon and Kureo were right on the staircase above and they were staring right at him. He gave them the middle finger before running down the stairs. With a few shouts they chased him down the stairs. To keep ahead of them, the ghoul kept flipping over the rails. He quickly made to the ground floor and bashed his way through the door. He ran down the hall turning a few corners before finding the main entrance. He bull-rushed the door, tearing the door off its hinges. Both he and the door fell to the ground.

"Ow." He mumbled. "Not as cool as the movies make it seem."

There was a resounding battle cry and Amon jumped from the doorway, his quinque held above his head. Asaki rolled out of the way as the club was brought down he once lay, shattering the door and cracking the pavement. He reformed his kagune and swung out at the dark haired investigator who rolled out of the way. Kureo came in at that moment and lunged at the ghoul, who flicked the long Koukaku, deflecting the blow. The younger human ran towards him swinging his massive Quinque like a bat. Taking a page from their book, the ghoul father jumped up and brought his ghoul claw in between him and the weapon. It hit his kagune which was used as a spring, flinging the non-human ten feet in the air and thirty feet away. He flipped and landed on his feet.

"Thank you for that trick!" Asaki taunted. "Almost didn't think it'd work."

As Amon and Kureo charged to resume, he prayed that he could hold them long enough. With a shout, he lunged at them, ready to go down swinging.

Ryouko looked up at the clock that hung on the wall. Ten minutes have passed. She brought her eyes down to her daughter who clung to her waist still sobbing. "Hinami, we have to go."

The girl looked up at her mother, half terrified half despair and cried. "But what about Daddy?"

"Daddy will be fine." The mother comforted. "He's really strong. He'll meet us where we're going, 'kay?"

"'Kay." She said uncertainly

"Let's go."

They got up and moved to the door. Ryouko carefully looked out into the hallway and when she saw no one she took her daughter's hand and pulled her along as she ran for the stairs. Following her husband's directions, she made for the roof. The only time she stopped was to check that the staircase was void of people as well. Just after they burst through the door on the roof, the mother broke into a sudden stop and shoved Hinami behind her in a protective gesture. Standing ten feet away was Akira wearing a beige trench coat that was buttoned up, over black business attire. In her hand was a quinque. Bikaku type, it was long red whip and was flat.

Akira was staring dead at them, then she sighed. Her father had dragged her along, claiming that he had found the location of some dangerous Ghouls that he would need some help on. They were clearly nothing like he had described. As usual, he lied. Ever since Marcus came into her life, Kureo had been trying to convince her that all ghouls are evil and that her adopted son had been lying. She should have known this would be one of his attempts to convince her. Then there was off chance that he was dead-on. It wasn't too long ago that he had been assigned to the Jason Case after there had been reports he was seen in the twentieth ward. Nonetheless, it was bullshit.

Ryouko eyes flashed into Kakugans as she started to form her kagune, then she was halted when Akira raised a hand in a stop gesture.

"It's alright." She said. "From mother to mother, I'm more interested in helping you."

Stunned by the sudden and shocking event the ghoul mother held back her kagune and let her Kakugans fade away. "What?"

The human pointed in the distance. "Head that way and stay to the rooftops."

The brown haired woman paused for a moment not believing her eyes before saying. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Move."

Ryouko nodded before picking up Hinami and running in the direction Akira had pointed. As they jumped to the next roof, the investigator already started wishing she could do more. Unfortunately, she couldn't save the father. Protecting a ghoul is the same as treason in Japan. There is no trial, any investigator present is judge, jury and executioner. She knew her father might let it go, but she couldn't trust his partner. Even if they let it go, it might put her under suspicion and a full investigation might be called on her. Which could reveal Marcus and they would kill him or worse use him like a lab rat. The only thing she can do is make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain.

* * *

Five months later…

"Keep it slow and make sure to pour in circles," Yoshimura advised.

Kaneki was practicing Anteiku's popular way of making coffee. He wasn't doing that great of a job, however. His hand was shaking badly and his circles were more demented and mutated oval – square crossbreed. He started the same day when Marcus saved him and Hide, and it's been three days since then. While the half ghoul was practicing his coffee making, Marcus explained everything to him. It was honestly shocking to him, how unique Marcus was. At the same time, he understood him, being on the outside like that. Although he can't understand why the kakuja interacted with ghouls, weren't they his food?

Once Kaneki finished making the pot, he poured a cup and drank it. It was good but it wasn't as good as Yoshimura's or Marcus' but it was good enough for government work. "It's okay but… it's just not the same." The half-breed muttered.

"The taste changes with how much care you put into it." The older ghoul advised. "It's just like people. No need to rush. Well, I think it's about time you go down and help Marcus and Touka. If you have any questions, ask them."

"Okay." The college student said uncertainly.

Yoshimura had started walking towards the door before he remembered something. "There is one more thing to keep in mind. Anteiku is not just a café. It's where ghouls in the twentieth ward convene. There's no reason to be afraid, just remember that some of our patrons are ghouls."

Kaneki slightly lamented that.

"We have human patrons too. Like you were once." The manager reminded. "Greet them as you would normally."

The half-breed was slightly taken back by that. "I thought ghouls hid from society. Is it really all right to let in human patrons too?"

The old ghoul felt it was a worthwhile question and answered. "We live in their world. That's precisely why we have to study them. Personalities, tendencies, subtle gestures, and their meanings. Even down to how they eat. Humans are living specimens for us ghouls and… I like them."

'Like them? In what way exactly?' Kaneki thought as Yoshimura attempted to leave again but another thought entered his mind.

"Ah, head before I forget. Whether it's a trunk or attaché case, if it's a human carrying a large handbag enters the shop. Come tell me secretly." The old ghoul paused and thought. "Although I guess there's an exception to that now."

"Okay, what's that mean?"

"It'll be explained soon enough."

Clearly receiving the mushroom treatment – kept in the dark and fed bullshit – Kaneki just nodded and left without a word. They were in the shop kitchen so it wasn't that far of a walk to the main shop area but it was enough for him to think about Yoshimura's warning. People with attaché cases is a really vague description and could apply to almost anybody. Especially to businessmen and he could see a least one or two coming by in the mornings or during their lunch hours to grab a cup of coffee to help push them through their day. He had said there was an exception which suggested to the half breed that they were looking for the generalization. He would just have to trust in the manager and his decision to keep him in the dark.

Kaneki stepped through the door into the shop and was shocked when he was Hide sitting at the counter directly across from the door. He was wearing his usual outfit of cargo pants and his jacket. Marcus was with him, pouring fresh coffee into his cup. He was wearing an all black outfit of a dress shirt, slacks and dress shoes. The right sleeve was rolled up so that his cast wouldn't tear the sleeve. It had taken the Kakuja a lot of convincing to get the day's shift. He got it under the condition that he only take orders. He was only able to pour the human another cup because he was getting better at using his left hand for everything. Casts are quite handy for learning how to be ambidextrous.

"What's up, Kaneki?!" Hide waved.

Marcus looked and joked. "Finally got out of boot camp and sent to the front lines, huh?"

"Yeah," Kaneki laughed. "Guess so."

"Good. Then get on those dishes." The Kakuja pointed to the dish filled sinks. "We've less than half an hour before the after school rush. Irimi and Koma are out running an errand for the Manager and Touka's late. Now, move!"

Startled by the sudden rise in his voice, Kaneki jumped and said, "Okay."

As he rushed by, he bumped one of the Mason jars of coffee to where it balanced on the edge for a couple seconds. Long for the three teens to see it's precarious position. Then it tipped over the edge. Hide stood up in shock while Kaneki tried reaching out for the glass but his reaction time was less than adequate. It would have already scattered across the floor by the time his hand was in the flight path of the jar. Marcus was faster for many reasons. His natural abilities and hand – to – hand training. He was already half turned to see it start to fall so it was no issue to turn the rest of the way quickly. He brought up his foot and kicked the jar up with the inside of his foot like a hacky sack. Reaching out, he caught the jar and set it on the counter.

Then Marcus leaned against the bar top so that he could rub at his sore foot. "Ow."

"You alright, man?" Hide asked.

"Yeah." The Kakuja said before giving Kaneki an exasperated look, who was tapping his fingers together and smiling nervously. "Just got a lot of work ahead me."

The human shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank him?" The half-breed tilted his head curiously.

"Don't cha remember. He helped us out after we were involved in that car accident. Nishio got the brunt of it, so he's in the hospital. But Marcus carried out like a marine in the battlefield, didn't he?"

"Yep." The Brit affirmed with faux enthusiasm.

"Though I wish it had been Touka." The orange haired college student muttered, to which the home-schooled boy dead-panned.

Kaneki vaguely remembered Yoshimura saying that was how he explained it.

"How'd you get us out with a broken arm," Hide asked.

Marcus quipped. "Raw talent and a lot of pain."

"Well, anyways. Thanks for helping us." He held out a fist and the Brit fist bumped it. "I'm out. Later, Kaneki."

"Yeah. Later."

Hide walked out after paying for his coffee, the sound of rain more audible while the door was open. He pulled up the hood of his jacket before leaving. Kaneki got to work on the dishes. The shop only had a single customer at one of the booths at the far end and she was a ghoul. They are as alone as they were going to get. It was the best time for Marcus to tell the half – breed something he should know.

"Don't let him find out your predicament." He said. "Touka will kill him."

"What?!" The Jap exclaimed.

The Brit explained. "You have seen enough of her to know that she's rash. I've been around her long to know that she values her life in Anteiku and that she would defend it with her life. Given that, how do you think she would respond if that livelihood was endangered?"

Kaneki's silence was equivalent to understanding the Kakuja. "That's not the only thing. Nishiki isn't dead. Critically wounded, yes, but not dead. He's a bikaku type, which means he has decent healing abilities. He also definitely seems the type to hold a grudge. Then one of our patrons may decide he looks tasty, so beware of that."

"Ok."

The British ghoul's head suddenly jerked his head towards the door and whispered. "Here she comes. Remember, you were too busy going psycho-nuts to notice anything? And I'm not…" Marcus scrunched up his eyebrows and nose while sticking his tongue out as a way to sign for his alter ego.

"Right."

As Marcus dropped the face, Touka stepped through the door already dressed in her work uniform and looked as tired as hell. The Brit walked up to her, put his good fist on his hip and demanded jokingly in a falsetto enhanced with a British accent. "Where have you been?"

Touka glared at him and said. "Shut up. Someone thought it'd be funny to use my head as a tennis ball against an exhaust fan on a building."

"I know." He confirmed, and when she looked at him confused, he explained embarrassedly. "I, uh, I followed you."

She sputtered. "W-why? I told you that I would take care of it."

"I know, I know, I know. I just -" He sighed and averted his gaze. "I was worried about you."

"What?" She was shocked by this.

"If you were too late then he would've freshly fed and he might've been too strong."

"Oh." She said quietly. "I see."

The Brit added on. "It's a good thing. Xeno was the one who knocked you out."

The purple-haired teenager looked at him in shock. "Are you sure?"

"Hard to mistake." He confirmed.

"How are we alive then?" she asked. "He doesn't leave survivors."

"He does where I toss his arse off a four-story building," Brit grinned.

She blinked. "You tossed him off the building?"

"Yes. It was extremely satisfying." He replied, cocky.

She repeated a little more dubiously. " _You_ threw him off a building."

He gave her a light slap on her shoulder. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Sorry." The high school student apologized. "Just kind of stunned we survived Xeno."

"Definitely hard to believe." Marcus agreed. "But what is more believable is the workload that needs to be done in the next twenty-five minutes."

"Alright."

Marcus walked over to the counter and grabbed a wet washrag and started wiping down the tables. Touka got behind the counter and began setting up the stands for their pour over method. She gave Kaneki a quick glance and said. "So, you're the new guy?"

Kaneki shrugged and shyly replied. "Guess so."

"Hope you got the chops for it. The after school rush on a Monday can be hell." She warned.

"Right." He answered.

The three ghouls worked to get ready for the After-School rush and finished not three seconds before the masses came. Kaneki thought they were exaggerating but they weren't. Like flipping a switch students from both high schools and colleges swarmed in. They came in to talk, study or just drink coffee. The Anteiku staff were getting in two or three orders at a time and without the presence of Yoshimura, those orders might not have been filled quickly enough. Marcus took care of orders while Yoshimura and Touka filled out those orders. Leaving the half-breed on dish duty. Over the couple hours that made up this particular rush, they worked tirelessly. Eventually, as dinner time started rolling around the collected teenagers started migrating their way home. Leaving them alone again except for a few older stragglers.

Marcus was sitting on one if the stools, and he rolled the shoulder of his broken arm. "Well. That was a thing."

"Would've been easier if your handwriting a was a little neater." Touka mocked.

"You try writing with your left hand because I know you're righty." He countered.

Smirking, she grabbed the notepad and pen that sits in her apron and attempted to write with her left hand. Kaneki and Marcus watched in anticipation. A few minutes passed, while she tried to write a single character. Her hand was shaking and she had no control over her pencil strokes. Marcus' snickering didn't help either. She eventually completed the word she was trying to achieve, coffee, and it looked nothing like it. Marcus took out his notepad and wrote coffee. It was ten times neater than hers. When he started laughing, she finally got mad enough and threw the notepad at the Kakuja.

He ducked it, still laughing. "Don't hit the injured."

"You'll be more injured by the time I'm done you!"

Touka reached across the table and started grabbing at Marcus, who leaned back in his stool while hanging on the counter to avoid her wrathful reach. Kaneki latched onto the teenage girl and held her back. The Kakuja was still laughing and having a good time. She couldn't decide whether she was mad or having fun, for pride's sake, she chose to look the former. As the half-breed breed held back the purple haired ghoul, he couldn't help but feel how much like a family, the members of Anteiku were. It had it's argumentative siblings and the patient grandfather. He had never met Koma or Irimi but he bet they were the aunt and uncle in this family. Yoshimura walked in on the ongoing mayhem and cleared his throat. All three teenagers looked at him simultaneously.

"Hi, manager." Marcus waved and in doing so, let go of the counter.

As he fell onto the floor, the older ghoul sighed and continued on his business. "Kaneki would you please come upstairs?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." He replied.

Kaneki followed Yoshimura to the kitchen and he felt a sense of déjà vu. Sitting on the counter was a plate with three triangular cut Deli sandwiches stacked on it.

"What? A sandwich?!" Exclaimed Kaneki in his witty wonder.

"It's a lesson to live as a ghoul," Yoshimura explained. "Ghouls that live among people first learn this. Watch."

The older ghoul picked up one of the sandwiches, took a bite out of it then starting it. He also seemed to actually enjoy it. Once he finished that bite, he set the deli food down and gave the half-ghoul a look that wanted his opinion.

"Th-that looked like you really enjoyed it." The college student stated the obvious, completely stunned by what he saw.

He turned to the plate and hesitantly reached out for sandwiches before picking up one. He wondered if something had been done to the food to allow ghouls to eat it. Bolstered by that he brought it up to his mouth and bite into it. He didn't make past that before he had to run to the trash can that sat across the room to throw up in it from the taste alone. It was absolutely revolting. He had the feeling that he got suckered into eating the food.

The older ghoul apologized. "I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

"S-sir," the teenager mumbled through the aftertaste of bile. "I'b sowwy… buhit tastes howible. The bread is like a tasteless and odorless sponge and I smell the grassiness of the lettuce deep in my nose. The cheese stinks like rotton milk and the texture is like clay!"

Yoshimura chuckled lightly. "Sorry. It's just that your decisions were rather funny. A simple disgusting or awful would've sufficed."

The half-breed looked down in embarrassment. It was how he felt, what else would he say?

The older ghoul explained. "The key to 'eating' human food is to 'drink' it instead of eating it. Biting into it will cause the taste to spread in your mouth and it'll make you nauseous. Bite a piece off then swallow it immediately to help with the taste. Then pretend to chew about ten times, add some chewing sounds and it'll seem realistic. If you can some facial expressions, it'll be even better but that's the most difficult part. Do remember to regurgitate before digestion starts. Otherwise, it can be bad for your health."

Kaneki wondered just how much work ghouls had to go through to discover this. Having to deal with the disgusting taste of human food. All the while trying to hide from humans with no surefire way to blend in wholly. Many ghouls must've died trying to perfect this so that they could blend in with humans. How long did it take them and how many lives were lost? So that they could stand a chance at living with humans. Suddenly it seemed kind of overwhelming and kind of intrusive. This method was created to hide from humans and in a way, he was still human even though he had ghoul traits. He wondered if he could really do this.

Yoshimura saw the worried expression and knew what The younger ghoul was thinking. "If you're worried about not being able to do it just remember if you get this down you'll be able to eat with your friend again."

Kaneki nodded. "I'll try my best."

"Good. Until then, I have a gift for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cloth bag tied shut by a string. He opened and pulled out a light brown sugar cube. "I figured you were still hesitant to eat people so I made these. It may look quite normal but it's not on the inside. Take it with coffee and it'll help a lot with your hunger.

"Wow!" the college student exclaimed. "What's in it?!"

"It's best if you don't know."

The dark haired male replied hesitantly. "I see."

"Remember it'll only calm your hunger." The manager advised. "It won't completely satisfy it. In order for a ghoul to live a fulfilling life, a certain amount of food is essential. Look at Marcus. He still has to hunt every two weeks to keep his other half at bay. No matter how civilized ghouls will become, hunting and killing will still be a part of our nature. Just keep in mind that you will need to feed when the time comes."

"I will."

* * *

Later that night, Touka walked up to her apartment door as she pulls out her keys. She thumbed the right one out and unlocked the door, opened it and stepped in. Closing the door and locking it, she hung up her school bag on a hook by the door and rolled the stiffness out of her shoulders. It was a three block walk from Anteiku to her apartment and her backpack is quite heavy. The theater kicked off her shoes and set them by the door where they are supposed to go. She walked into her apartment and started taking off her clothes. She was tired and honestly didn't care where they went, she would pick them up in the morning. She took off her vest and tossed it on the ground.

Suddenly, the seventeen-year-old girl got thirsty and turned around to her kitchen set up for a glass of water. In the process, she accidentally stepped on her vest and there was an audible crunch. Pausing, she looked at it oddly before lifting her foot and crouching down to pick it up. As she picked up the clothing, she was greeted with the sight of a flattened cockroach. She stood up suddenly and took a step back, trying to distance herself from squished. She may be a tough girl but cockroaches still get to her. They were disgusting. As she looked around she noticed a few other patches of dark on the floor that were similar in shape. She sidestepped towards the light switch and flicked it on. Scattered about the room were three cockroaches.

She shouted. "You've got to be kidding me!"

She checked the clock on the wall. It was a little bit past nine. The office wouldn't close for another hour. One of the reasons why she loves this complex, they stayed open late which made it easy for her if she needed help on anything because she was gone for most of the day. She reached into her closet and grabbed a set of work clothes and her night clothes. She wasn't sleeping here, she would have to be insane to do that. Maybe she could bum a bed from somebody.

* * *

"I swear someone has it out for me," Touka growled.

Kaneki looked at her oddly and asked. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." She muttered. "Just count up the menus. I think a few are missing."

She reported to the office about her roach problem and it turned out she wasn't the only one. At least other four tenants on her floor had cockroaches too. They had sent in a request for an exterminator to come in and fumigate the entire floor to be sure. They estimated it to be a couple of a weeks before it was cleaned out and she couldn't bum a bed off of anyone. She couldn't contact Marcus or anyone at Anteiku so she had to go to one of her hideouts and sleep there. She might have been better in her roach infested apartment, she couldn't tell. She slept on a hard cot on the floor with no pillow and no sheets. Her muscles are all tense and her back is all messed up. She sat down at one of the tables and rubbed her aching shoulders.

Marcus stepped up beside her and commented. "I wanted to say this before but… you look like shit that got nuked from orbit."

Touka glared at him before giving up on being annoyed and sighed. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night and it's got me tied up in knots."

"You want a massage?" He offered. She looked at him oddly causing him to raise his eyebrows questioningly and asked. "You think I'm the kind of guy to take advantage of you?"

"You are a seventeen-year-old boy about to manhandle a girl in the same age group." She quipped.

The Kakuja tilted his head from side to side in agreement. "Fair enough but still… you know me."

She looked into his eyes. She knew that he wouldn't do anything, he's not that type. It's more the concept of the personal space thing and keeping others at arms length. She doesn't let people in and this was just a step in that path to letting Marcus in. Honestly, she wouldn't mind letting him in, if a little bit. She was just worried that once she started becoming attached to him he would get taken away like a lot of things in her life. Though she thought about what a lot of people have been saying trust. She had a feeling that she should trust in Marcus to not die on her. She also could tell he wouldn't go down not, without a fight.

Touka straightened in the chair and placed her hands in her lap. "Okay."

Marcus stepped behind her, laid his hands on her shoulders and started kneading her muscles. She sighed pleasurably. It felt really good. He shifted his hands to the back of her neck and rubbed at the muscles at the back of her neck with his thumbs. Then moved his way down to her shoulder blades Rolling his fists against them, alternating between each hand. She rolled her head back and moaned slightly. He was hitting all her really knotted up spots. It was a shame that he couldn't get to her lower back. If he could fix up the mess that was down there, she might marry him. The doorbell jingled as the door opened drawing everyone's attention and ruining her little bit if heaven.

"Welcome to Anteiku." Kaneki greeted.

"Oh, are you new here?" Asked Ryouko.

Ryouko's daughter was next to her. She wore a pale pastel dress that was tied at the waist with a braided orange belt, a pale yellow sweater, and an orange-red scarf. Hinami had on a blue dress that had a frilly skirt that stopped midway down her thigh covered mostly by a pale tan sweater with an orange sash tied around her neck.

"Yeah," Kaneki answered. "I'm Kaneki."

"We're the Fueguchis." The mother greeted then looked to her daughter and give her a soft nudge. "C'mon, Hinami. Say hello. I'm sorry. She's very shy."

He gave the girl a smile. "Hello."

"Hello." Hinami greeted timidly as she buried her face in her mother's dress to hide her tinting cheeks.

It took her a moment but Touka recognized the newcomers and stood up quickly to distance herself from Marcus. Best to avoid awkwardness. Nonetheless, she waved at them with a smile. "Hey! Ryouko! Hinami!"

"Hello, Touka." Ryouko waved then she got a better look at her. "Are you alright dear?"

"Yeah. Roaches infested my apartment. Had to sleep somewhere else. It wasn't too comfortable." The teenage girl told them. "The Manager's waiting upstairs. You can go right up."

The mother nodded and worked her way to the staircase door and went through. Kaneki watched them. "Are they ghouls, too?" He asked unafraid to approach the topic out in the open with the shop empty.

"Yup." She confirmed.

He asked. "Why can't they talk down here? There's nobody here."

"They only came to pick up a package." She explained.

"Package?"

She glanced at him before stating. "Meat."

"Meat?!" He exclaimed. "But why?"

"Same reason as you. They can't hunt on their own." She explained.

He tilted his head to the side slightly in confusion. "Can't hunt? What's that mean? Is there a rule that says they can't? Like an age or gender restriction?"

Getting tired of his constant questions, she snapped. "Stop your meowing! Ask 'em yourself if you wanna know! Some ghouls are just like that! God, you're annoying."

"What did ya sleep on?" Marcus asked.

"A hard cot on the floor."

" A two foot by three foot hole in a concrete wall. Quit whining."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he did the same.

'Like a couple of kids.' Kaneki thought.

* * *

Kureo tapped his fingers on his quinque case as he waited as patiently as he could for the meeting to end. The room was the size of a basketball court. The walls were a dull monochrome gray except for one side. That side was slanted inwardly and had gunmetal gray shutters pulled over the windows. Florescent lights covered the ceiling illuminating the room in white light. Filling the room were three rows of two seat tables facing lengthwise down the room. A pair of partnered investigators sat at each of the tables, all of them wearing matte color business clothes. Kureo stood out in his white attire. In front of them was a raised podium that could seat five people but only sat two. One in the center and one at the end. Behind the podium and built into the wall was a large screen showing a map of Tokyo's eleventh ward next to a full map of the twenty-three wards and few pictures of warehouses.

"This is the current status of the eleventh ward." Said the man in the center seat of the podium. He was middle aged, showing his years, and had long dark parted hair. He gestured to the multicolored dots on the eleventh ward map. They were scattered around the edges but more congealed near the center of the ward. "These patterns clearly indicate the start of organized movements. At this rate, it'll only be a matter of time until a war is waged. That concludes my report. Does anyone else have anything further?"

Amon raised his hand in acknowledgment and stood up, announcing. As he started his report, an image of a metal tool similar to the shape of a large cable cutter. "Amon Koutarou, First Class Investigator. I'll start with this. I believe everyone is aware of the incident that happened several months ago, where Jason of the thirteenth ward initiated contact with an S-class ghoul from the twentieth ward, a binge eater. The following piece of evidence was left behind at the crime scene."

"And that is?" Asked the investigator sitting at the podium.

"A pair of medical pliers tailored for ghouls, supposedly. We have confirmed it to be made of Quinque steel." He answered. "My partner and I were able to trace it to an underground ghoul doctor. However, the fighting resulted in his death before we could get answers. This has left Jason's motives unclear. I would like to point out the abrupt decline in binge predation lately. In short, those ghouls may be planning something in the twentieth ward."

As Amon sat down, the one at the podium commented. "I expected nothing less from one of the Academy's top students. Good for you, Mado. Having such a reliable partner gives you more time to play with your toys, no?"

"Fortunately so," Kureo replied. "However, let's get onto the real reason we all came, and get past all these useless pleasantries."

"I'd throw you out of you weren't such a good investigator. Nonetheless, you have a point." He straightened and said sternly, as the previous images vanished off the screen then filled with images of a cargo ship. "I know you are all aware of the attack on our Quinque steel shipment last night. Two ghoul gangs attacked our cargo ship, the _Zabimaru_. Battled there then ran off with several metric tons of Quinque steel before sinking the ship and the rest of the steel."

A hand rose up and a voice asked. "To which ward did they run off to?"

"All of them." That sent the room into a series of mutters and whispers. He let it go before explaining. "Members of one organization ran for the eleventh ward while the members of the other group scattered throughout all twenty-three before vanishing underground. We have identified one to be Aogiri, the other group is a new one identifying themselves as Knightmare."

The screen flashed to the image of a warehouse with their name written on it in at least five different languages including English and Japanese. Kureo straightened in his chair at the mention of the name. The name of a project suddenly becoming the name of a new gang in Japan. It was odd. Especially considering what he knew about the program. That it was based in England and started in the fifties, then the program suddenly crashed in two thousand and three for an unknown reason. He couldn't help but wonder if this group signaled a return. Which could lead to a lot worse things.

The investigator on the podium shouted. "With the quietest Ward's sudden flare in ghoul activity, the apparent organization in the eleventh ward and this new ghoul organization, something tells me that this is a glimpse of things to come. But our purpose here at the CCG is to eradicate every, last ghoul from Tokyo! This is the one and only responsibility that we've been entrusted with! Even now that fact remains the same! All right! Stay focused and stay frosty!"

"Yes, sir!" The investigators responded unanimously.

"The meeting is now adjourned. Dismissed!"

* * *

Kaneki was wiping the down the tables when Yoshimura came to him about a mask. "A mask?" he asked.

The manager nodded. "Yes, I think you should have one too. I have one myself."

The half-ghoul had an odd thought of him wearing a medical mask with his eyepatch and Hide not recognizing him. That thought was interrupted when the old ghoul called out. "Touka."

"Yes, sir?" She replied quizzically.

"Would you taking Kaneki… and Marcus now that I think about it, to get some masks made on your next day off?"

Her face morphed from quizzical to horrified as she demanded. "What?! Why do I have to spend my free time with this guy? Marcus, I don't mind but him!"

"He may get lost of he goes alone and he'll be afraid to be alone with Uta." The older ghoul explained.

She slumped a little. "Y-You're right, but… do they really need a mask right now?"

"Well," he drew out. "I heard from Yomo… there are two investigators in our ward. I wanted him to have one just in case."

"Fine." She sighed before turning to Marcus and Kaneki who stood side by side listening to the conversation. Her voice suddenly got a dark overtone and an aura of evil surrounded her, promising massive levels of pain. "Eyepatch! Marcus! Saturday, four thirty, Shinjuku station, east exit. Show up late and I'll kill both of you."

Marcus and Kaneki straightened, clicked their feet together, and saluted, shouting. "Yes, ma'am!"

Kaneki did it in fear while Marcus was being his usual fun loving self and was messing with her. She sighed, walked to one of the stools, and then slumped into it. She rubbed her lower back. They were going to be closing up soon and she didn't look forward to going back to that hard cot and another night of restless sleep. She was going to sudden this for two plus weeks. She could already see the decline in her grades. Exams were less than a week away if she couldn't get decent sleep through that. Her school life and thus her life with Yoriko was over.

'Dammit, this sucks.' She thought.

Marcus noticed her tired state and walked up to her. He sat on the stool across from and said. "You okay?"

Touka scoffed. "No. The entire floor where my apartment is located is getting fumigated and that's gonna take a couple weeks."

"Yeah, that's right." He nodded. "The roaches."

"Yeah, and you know how well I slept." She huffed. "This sucks. Exams are coming soon."

He paused in thought then said. "You know… uh… I've been thinking…"

"Duck and cover." The teenage girl quipped.

"Ha ha." The Brit fake laughed then said. "But seriously. I was thinking that I could talk to my mom, see if I can't get you a real night's sleep."

She blinked a few times before stammering in disbelief. "Ar-Are you… are you offering me to sleep at your place?"

"Well, when you say it like that…" He left off insinuatingly.

Her face tinted red as her expression morphed into a mixture of shock and embarrassment then it started turning into anger. Marcus raised his hands in surrender. "Before you start maiming and murdering. Listen. I honestly don't think Mum's gonna have any issue with you sleeping at our place. Just last one night so I can ask."

"I can do that but if," She held up a finger. " _if_ I do sleep over. Where would you sleep?

"Floor or couch. Whatever seems more comfortable." He shrugged. "Slept in worse places. Remember? Two foot by three foot hole."

"You're gonna be rubbing that in for a while, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah."

* * *

Akira was sitting at the island in her kitchen, wearing her night clothes, a cup of coffee in her hand and on the island. A manilla envelope was open and papers were scattered in front of her in some chaotic order. The entire case was passed all the to the top to Arima's team. Which somehow got passed to her and they demanded some theories by the day after tomorrow. Thus, she was going to have to pull off a couple of all-nighters.

The door unlocked and opened. Marcus walked in greeting. "Hey, Mum."

"Hey, newt." She said half-heartedly.

"You okay?" he asked as he walked over and leaned on her chair.

The mother rubbed her face. "Yeah. Just trying to prepare for the long nights ahead."

The Kakuja winced. "Heavy workload?"

"Yep."

"What's the case?" he sat down in the other chair.

She held up one of the papers and said. "Last night our cargo ship full of Quinque steel was attacked."

"By who?"

She sighed and set the page down in front of Marcus who started reading it. "That's up to debate. First, a group of paramilitary forces took the ship. Captured our men guarding it then shoved them into one of the nearby warehouses. They ran off with a few cargo containers of steel. Then as they were prepping to transport their quarry, they were attacked."

She picked up a photo taken by one of the dock security cameras. It showed the cargo ship in question. The paramilitary group was on the deck of the ship on top of the cargo boxes and in the pathways between the stacks. Some of them were ghouls as evidenced by the Kagune, others it was hard to tell. They didn't have Kagune but assault rifles and machine guns, yet that didn't mean they weren't ghouls simply not choosing to use their natural weapons but they could be human also. Nonetheless, their attention was drawn to the roof of the warehouse that was neighboring the ship. Those with guns were firing. Aiming at figures with red cloaks and mechanical skull masks that were descending on soldiers. Members of Aogiri.

"Aogiri's finally making their move," Marcus commented.

"Seem so." Akira agreed before continuing. "The two of them duked it out on the ship for several hours as the paramilitary guys got what they wanted then suddenly retreated. They hauled ass, too. Why? Because they had rigged the entire thing to blow. Several hundred tons of Quinque steel now sits at the bottom of Tokyo Bay."

He handed back the page and the image, stating. "I know for a fact we're thinking the same thing because it's clear as day. At least for those without a biased opinion."

"The paramilitary group was trying to stop Aogiri from getting their hands on the steel." She said.

"Yep." He confirmed.

"Quinque steel is mostly known for being the only weapon humanity has ghouls." The investigator recalled off the top of her head. "However, since it never gets used outside of Anti-ghoul operations, only Anti-ghoul organizations and a few scientists who study ghouls know that bullets made from the steel are the best armor piercer around. Aogiri gets their hands on it and we would lose our only advantage."

The Kakuja nodded. "The soldiers also hid the CCG guards because Aogiri surely would've killed them. The whole point was slowly down Aogiri, the crates they stole was a bonus."

Akira sighed woefully. "Exactly, but no way in hell they're going to accept that. There no such thing as good ghouls."

"Yep." He popped the p. "Speaking of good ghouls, Touka's apartment got infested and her landlord is fumigating the entire floor in an act of overkill. She doesn't have a place to sleep, well, anywhere that's decent. She came in tied in knots. Her knots had knots."

"And you wanted to know if she could stay here." The mother filled in.

He shrugged and answered sheepishly. "Maybe."

She smiled. "Of course, she can stay. As long as you can handle it."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He assured her. "Just gotta eat an extra half pound or so every night instead of the usual one."

"Okay." The human said as she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Get some sleep."

"Alright. Good night."

"Night."

Marcus stood and headed to his room. Akira went to take a drink when she noticed that the coffee cup was empty. She looked up at her pot and noticed that it was empty too.

"Yeah." She declared. "More coffee."

* * *

Kaneki stood out in front of the Shinjuku station where Touka asked them to meet her. Marcus was a few feet away leaning against some railing that bordered the street and sidewalk. The half-breed was wearing a pair of jeans, a white dress shirt and a dark jacket with his signature. The Kakuja had on jeans, a Black Butler T-shirt, and his Nostromo jacket. He only had his non-casted arm in a sleeve while it hanged on his shoulder on the other side. They have been waiting for over an hour past the meet time the female ghoul had set up and she had yet to show up. Suddenly, Kaneki was kicked lightly in the back by the girl in question. She was wearing a plaid short skirt, black sweater, and a colored shirt.

"Oh, it's you," Kaneki muttered.

Marcus quipped while grinning. "The princess finally showed up to the ball."

She glared at him. "Do you ever wear any other jacket?"

"Only when I feel like it." He responded sarcastically.

"Let me guess. You never feel it."

"Nope."

"Let's go." She sighed.

Marcus and Kaneki followed Touka as she led them into the depths of the fourth ward. As the half-breed watched her, he thought how human like she was. The way she was so casual, from her clothes to the laid back way she walks. Every day that he was with the ghouls the more the line between human and ghoul seem to blur. There were some days he couldn't tell the difference, then there some days he wondered if there was a difference.

They delved deeper into the fourth ward, moving from the rather small part of Shinjuku the was good into the darker parts. Marcus was mentally naming each store, street and assigning events to the alleyways that they passed by. The Shinjuku ward was one of the more shadier wards. It held a lot of the bars and brothels. The hotels there were also less than stellar. The fourth ward could also be called the red light district of Tokyo. It's kind of shocking that it borders the first and third wards. Two of three most richest and civilized wards. It's easy to know when one enters the fourth ward. The contrast is like black and white.

As the three of them walked, Kaneki commented. "It's pretty far in here, isn't it?"

After a few more blocks he said. "Really deep in here…"

A couple more blocks and down some stairs that lead to some kind of basement. "How much farther is it?"

They stopped in front of a wide wood plank door with a sign saying open hanging awkwardly on the front. The owner of this fine establishment had taken the time to decorate the front. On the left was a barred window that had a couple of masks on busts. Between the window and the door was a sideways sign the had the times it was open. From one to nine. Below the window were a couple plants in large pots with a sign next to them close to the door. It had a bunch of prices for different types of masks and the rarity of the materials. On the other side, the wall was painted with a logo. The words Hy Sy Artmask Studio, over a sun. Below that were a couple of barrels painted in a floral design.

'This place looks pretty sketchy.' Kaneki thought.

Marcus crouched down in front of the sign and read it. The prices were actually fair. Full masks cost more than half masks. Cloth masks were cheaper than leather and metal masks. "We don't have to pay for this, right?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Uta's a close friend of ours and does the masks for free."

"Cool." The Brit commented. "Shall we?"

The teenage girl walked up to the door, reached for a demon themed knocker, and rapped the handle. The Mask shop was quite large, at a thousand plus square feet. It had a checkerboard tile floor. Set up in aisles around the room were glass cases with masks in them and there were masks hanging on the wall also. In the center, a stool stood with a rolling tool cabinet with a bust and scattered art tools on top. In the corner sat a lone desk with a rack of art tools and pencils on the wall, with art concepts of masks. There was all this but no Uta.

"Uta? You here?" she called out. "Wonder if he's sleeping?"

They spread out in the room. Touka was looking for Uta while the two boys were just perusing. Marcus noticed a mask that took his fancy. It was bleached white and was like the face of a skull with the bare teeth. The eyes weren't hollowed but cut in the shape of eyes. In the gap was black outlining yellow stain glass.

"Kaneki!" Marcus called out as he grinned. He took down the mask and put it on speaking in a deep voice. "Getsuga Tensho."

The half-breed snorted out a laugh while the girl rolled her eyes and muttered. "Nerd."

"Proud of it." The Kakuja stated as he put back the mask back.

The college student noticed a white sheet hanging over what looked like a bust. A lot of the masks were pretty creepy to him so he wondered what that one looked like for it to be covered. He reached out to remove the sheet when it suddenly flew off startling him. He shouted out and fell backward on his behind. Standing there was what could only be called the poster boy for goths. Uta was a slender man of average height. His black hair was long and was swept to his right with an undercut on the left. He had smooth features and a straight nose. Tattoos adorned his body. The visible ones were a pair of varying sets that ran up his arms, a mix of tribal, mechanical looking and some similar to Dia De Los Muertos designs. Peeking out from the color of his shirt was part of a sun that was placed over his left pec. Around his neck was a Latin inscription. He wore a gray tank top and a black sweater that he had the sleeves on but not doing over shoulders. It hung freely off his back. He also wore a black set of harem pants and sandals. The most notable feature was his active kakugans. He crouched down beside the half - ghoul and poked his thigh curiously.

Touka looked at them oddly with a faint smile on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Thought I'd scare him a bit, that's all." Uta shrugged as he poked Kaneki again. "So, I assume this is about business."

"Yeah." She replied.

"All right. Give me a few seconds." The goth stood up and went to the door. He popped it open flipped the sign to 'close'. He closed it again, locked it then moved across the room to his desk and slumped into the chair. "M'kay, shoot."

The three teenagers gathered around him. Touka introduced. "This is Uta, he makes masks for ghouls."

Kaneki felt intimidated by the way the mask-maker looked and said nervously. "I'm Kaneki. It's nice to meet you too."

The goth tilted his head curiously and noted. "So you're the boy Mr. Yoshimura mentioned." He leaned forward and sniffed the hybrid, causing him to become very uncomfortable. "Your scent, it's unusual."

"Uta," The purple head pointed out in a deadpan manner. "You're scaring him."

"Oh, sorry." He leaned back then looked at the Kakuja. "And you are…?"

"Marcus Mado." The Brit told him.

"British?" The goth guessed.

"Yep."

"How did you break your arm?"

"I punched a tank."

Uta blinked confusedly a few times before Touka explained. "Yomo."

He quietly huffed out a laugh. "Accurate description." He stood up and started walking towards the tool cabinet and stool. "So, these guys need masks is that right, Touka?"

The only girl present nodded. "Yeah. We have to be a little cautious right now."

"You got investigators sniffing around, don't you?" The Gothic ghoul guessed. "Heard Yomo spotted them."

"Yeah, Yomo did. Did the manager tell you?"

"Yep." He put the art tools away in the drawers of the cabinet. "The twentieth ward had been well-behaved recently, so why are they in your business? Is Rize acting up again?"

'Well behaved?' The half-breed thought.

"Her and that Gourmet bastard." She added

"Right. Him." He had a disgusted tone when he talked about Gourmet

"Um, excuse me." The college student respectfully interjected. "Is the twentieth ward relatively peaceful? It doesn't seem like that to me."

"You'd know if you'd try living someplace else." The artist answered. "Wards eleven and thirteen are vicious to the point where it's pretty scary."

"Then there's the infamous Hannibal's ward," Marcus interjected.

Touka and Kaneki looked at the Brit oddly then gave the same look to Uta when he chuckled. "Now there's something I haven't heard in a while. You native to the fourth ward?"

"Grew up there." He responded.

Nodding, the goth explained. "Hannibal's ward was a name coined close to a decade ago. We have so many of our kind here, turf wars happened all the time. If you're lucky, you get to see some cannibalism and that's always fun. It also doesn't help that we're home to the more than well known Xeno. The Hannibal of ghouls."

' **He's making me blush.** '

Uta turned to Kaneki. "So, wanna stay at my place for the night?"

"Uh no." The Hybrid said quickly. "No, I'm good."

"The twentieth is a nice place to live thanks to you guys at Anteiku. Sit here and I'll take your measurements" He patted the stool for emphasis then addressed the Kakuja. "I'll get to you in a few minutes. Peruse around, maybe you'll find a design you like."

"Sure." The Brit said before joining Touka who was just standing off to the side, close to a wall.

"Not gonna look around?" she asked.

"Nope." He responded. "Gotta trust in the artist."

"Fair enough." The girl agreed.

"I talked to my mom."

"And?"

He told her. "She said that it was okay for you to stay over until they're done with your apartment."

"You're assuming that I've accepted your offer." She pointed out as she rubbed at her neck. She was going to accept anyway but she wasn't going to give in that easily. She wasn't some weak-kneed fan girl. She had some dignity.

He smirked and stated self-assuredly. "But you already accepted."

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, still playing hard to get. "And what makes you say that?"

"Because you've been rubbing your neck and shoulders almost non-stop since we started this little trip."

Her cheeks tinted and she averted her gaze. "Yeah, fine. Thanks."

"Anytime."

The newest members of Anteiku got their measurements taken and sent on their way. Kaneki left with some new wisdom given to him from Uta. He had a sudden new appreciation for Touka other than she was a terrifying badass that he shouldn't piss off. He understood that blending into human society was difficult and dangerous and that the more a ghoul interacted with humans the more impossible it got. He was trying to get the crash course before he got brutally murdered. Just so that he could be with Hide and continue his education. To think that she was trying to do the same thing, he no longer felt fearful of her, just empathetic. He wondered if she had a human friend too, one that she cared about.

"You were totally freaked out by Uta's appearance, weren't you?" Touka asked.

"Honestly…" Kaneki said sheepishly. "Yeah, but he's not at all like how he looks. Like the way he talked and everything, he was nice, but…"

'I know he also kills and eats people.' He finished in his head.

A stray thought ran across his head and he blurted out. "By the way, what's the mask for?"

Touka suddenly halted and stared at the half-breed in shock while Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. She shouted. "What?! You came without knowing?! Didn't the manager tell you anything?!"

"Apparently not." The Brit sighed.

She inquired. "You know what ghoul investigators are? Or at least heard of them, haven't you?"

"Yeah." He responded. "I've seen them in the news and stuff. Don't know much about them."

"They're crazy assholes just itching to kill us." After getting a glare from the Kakuja she corrected. "Most of them are. Anyways, the point is if we go at it with them our faces exposed and neither of us can finish each other, things can get messy. That's why we wear masks."

"Messy?" The Hybrid asked confusedly.

"Are you dumb?" She scoffed. "If they can match our faces with our identities we'd be in deep shit, wouldn't we? Use your head."

"It doesn't help that facial recognition technology is good and getting better every year." The Brit noted helpfully.

"Exactly." The violet haired girl agreed. "These masks are one of the only things that keep ghoul lives and human lives. They also keep those we care about safe."

He nodded. "Right."

* * *

Marcus looked back at Touka, who jumped as a door slammed shut down the hall from where they were walking. She's been as jumpy as a rabbit since they walked into the first ward on their way to Akira's apartment. The first three wards are known as the investigator's territory. Predations happen very rarely in wards two and three but are absolutely nonexistent in the first ward due to it being the location of the Main office. Ghouls are absolutely terrified to go in there because many of the buildings have heavy Anti-ghoul security. The normal police in those three wards carry Quinque bullets, which meant that any ghoul caught there would have to fight an entire ward. The twenty-fourth ward didn't even have any entrances there. All this is pretty much why Marcus was able to hide so thoroughly in the first ward. No one is expecting it and no one is actively looking. Usually, when he enters or leaves he takes the sewers to minimize the chances of getting caught. This time, he didn't because he had a feeling she wouldn't like that.

"Jumpy?" Marcus asked, with a knowing grin.

She punched his shoulder and yelled with a blush. "Shut up, idiot!"

He laughed. "Don't worry, we're here."

Touka waited as Marcus fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. They stepped in. She looked around the apartment, taking in her first look at where the Brit lived. The teenage girl was kind of impressed. It was a good sized apartment with plenty of space. The entertainment center they had set up looked kick ass with the large flat screen, gaming system and DVD player. The kitchen looked pretty impressive too, but she didn't care about that. Sitting at the island was Akira in much the same position as the night before. Night clothes, a cup of coffee and scattered paperwork.

The investigator turned to look at the two teenagers and said. "Hello."

"Hey, Mum." Marcus greeted as he kicked off his shoes and placed them by the door. He also hung his jacket on a hook by the door.

Touka followed his example and removed her shoes and jacket, placing them in their proper places. She looked at the mess on the table and raised her eyebrows. "What's all this?"

The mother followed her eyes to the table. "Oh? This? Just a case."

"About what?"

The human looked at the Kakuja questioningly, he shrugged. "Sure."

Akira filled the younger girl in on the events that happened down at the docks. As well as their theories on the whole. Touka was sitting at the island with her by the time she got done. Marcus was in his room showering and getting changed.

"If you wondering if I knew anything." The female ghoul clarified. "I don't, sorry."

The blonde shrugged. "Didn't think so, but it worth a try. Keep an ear out?"

"Yeah, I'll try."

"Thanks."

The purple haired sighed apprehensively before asking. "Why work on Arima's team?"

The twenty-two year old looked at her oddly before letting a small laugh. "Yoshimura has an informant then. Well, the reason to work under him is that the workload is mostly desk work. Arima's team is only a team in name. What it really is, is Arima and the people who do his paperwork. Plenty of cases get sent up the command chain but he takes most of them. The ones he doesn't want, he sticks on a board and lets us pick 'em. I took that position so I could pick my cases and have a relatively guilt-free conscience."

The girl nodded. "I see. Sorry for doubting."

"It's fine. You're in Investigator central. Some assurance you wouldn't get sold out would certainly feel satisfying."

"Yeah, you're right."

Marcus stepped out of his bedroom at that moment dressed in his usual black sleep pants and was in the process of putting a white sleeveless shirt on. He usually walked around shirtless at this hour but he figured it would be more decent not to do that with Touka staying there. She still caught a lovely eyeful of well-sculpted abs and when he covered them up she felt a little disappointed. Then she looked past his apparent sexiness and saw the scars. The clothes he wears covers most of his body. This is actually the most skin she seen on him and it was covered in scar tissue. Jagged gashes, claw marks, burns, there was one on his shoulder that if she had to guess looked like someone thought it would be a good chew toy. She remembers that he had lived in the fourth and twenty-fourth wards but there was nothing like physical evidence.

"Bedroom and shower are free," Marcus said as he walked over to the loveseat and sat down in it.

Touka sighed pleasurably. "Shower. Yes, please."

"Oh, wait a second." Akira shot up and went to her room and a few minutes later came out with a large plastic bag. "Figure you wouldn't want to smell like boy."

"Hey!" He shouted indignantly.

"There's also a toothbrush, toothpaste, and few _other_ things." The mother added on.

The young woman looked in the bag, saw what she meant and nodded. "Thanks. I'm calling it an early night. I'm taking tomorrow off so I can study."

"All right then catcha later." The teenage boy waved.

The older woman smiled. "Night"

Touka nodded, took and went into Marcus' bedroom. To her absolute shock, it was sparkling clean. Then she noticed the bed.

"Is that memory foam?"

* * *

 _ **11, 867 words**_

 _ **Ladies and gentlemen, a new word count record. This is actually kind of cool for me. I wanted to write more, lot more but I figured it would be better to get this chapter out sooner than later. I had planned on going all the way through to the end of episode three but didn't pan out.**_

 _ **Speaking of which, good to hear from you again, Twain Apprentice. He had asked how long I would go with this story as far as canon. Figured I would answer here instead of a pm, as there would be others who are curious.**_

 ** _I plan on taking this canonically as far as to the end of the Tokyo ghoul manga/the end of root a, after that screw canon._**

 ** _Reviews:_**

 ** _Twain Apprentice: See above._**

 ** _Budderboots143: Glad you love it. Not Planning to stop anytime soon._**


	9. Blood of the Innocent

Touka looked at the alarm clock as it started buzzing with a disdain befitting a god. She wanted to wake up early just not eight o'clock early.

"Dammit." She whined tiredly. "First real night of sleep and you wake me up early. You heartless bastard."

She reached over to the alarm clock and started pressing random buttons until it shut off. As much as she didn't want to, the teenager threw off the covers and sat up on the edge of the bed. The memory foam was so comfortable for her aching back that she barely got her night clothes on before she hit that bed and fell asleep. Marcus was so damn lucky to have a bed like this. She feels a lot better compared to the last couple of days although she still had a crick somewhere in her lower back and one in her neck. She rolled her head and neck till she heard a satisfying pop. She then noticed a pile of neatly folded clothes with a note on top of them. She got walked over and picked up the note. It was written in a smooth neat handwriting.

 _Touka_

 _Hopefully, you get this before you go out into the living room. These are some of my clothes. They might be a little big but they're fresh. At least they're less revealing and less likely to give Marcus a heart attack and a bloody nose. While we're on the subject. I already ran this through with Marcus but I have to go through all my bases. I know you're both responsible, respectable, and smart but you're seventeen and alone. I was seventeen, too, I know what it's like with your hormones running every which way. I just ask that you two behave while I'm gone. If not, then at least use protection. Please. Other than that there's food in the left bottom drawer in the fridge. Feel free to use the entertainment system, Wi-Fi name is Gamma28, the password is W4y1and-Yut4ni. I'll be home around eight._

 _Akira_

By the time Touka finished the note her face was so red that it rivaled every red fruit one could think of. First of all, Akira had been right about her night clothing. It was made of a loss spaghetti strap and her boy shorts panties. The thought alone of Marcus seeing her in that was enough to make her blush Then there was the fact that this note had been written to her. She may be seventeen but she wasn't completely bent to the will of her genitals. She had more self-control than that. She started changing into Akira's light pink sleep pants and t-shirt as she attempted to calm her reddened face. She honestly had no idea what the human was thinking. She wasn't some school girl. Okay, she was a school girl but not the kind that got all hot and bothered every time a cute boy flexed his muscles at her.

The teenage girl ran her fingers through her hair to try to straighten it out and after fiddling with it to get in her usual style. She opened the bedroom door and stepped out. Her jaw went slack as the first thing that she saw was Marcus doing one handed pulls up on a ceiling pull up bar located in the open dining area. His back was facing the kitchen. Shirtless. She was so entranced by the way his muscles rippled every time he pulled himself up then lowered, she barely noticed that the cast was off and he was using the arm that was broken. Her eyes tracked a sweat drop as it traveled its way from the back of his neck down the contours of his backs muscles and scars before soaking into his black sleep pants. In that moment she couldn't help but admit that the Brit was sexy as hell.

"Okay." Touka sighed. "She may have a point."

"What was that?" Marcus groaned as he hefted himself up again.

"Nothing." She hastily answered. "Where can a girl get some coffee?"

He pulled up then swung his legs up and hung them on the bar where it was in the crook of his legs. Then he let go and just dangled there, upside down. He pointed to the coffee maker on the kitchen counter. "Cups are in the cabinet above. It's not our usual fare but it does the trick."

As she walked into the kitchen, he started doing vertical sit ups. She opened the cabinet, pulled down a coffee cup and started filling it. "So is your arm fully healed?"

"Close enough." He said. "Wouldn't want to get into any fights, though."

"Smart." She agreed then sat down at the table with her coffee.

She sat there for a few seconds watching him work out before asking. "Is this what you do all day? Drink coffee, work out and watch anime? Do you even have school?"

He answered. "Yeah. I go to online school but I don't do that on weekends. But pretty much that's what I do."

Marcus then did a backflip still hanging onto the bar with his legs. There was a series of loud clicks as the entire pull up bar rig slid off a couple of rails on the ceiling. He landed as the bar hit the ground making a loud but muffled thump. Touka scoffed. "Bet the neighbors loved that."

"Meh. They're used to it by now." He picked up the bar and set it against the wall before pulling a towel off the other chair and sitting down while wiping his face.

"So, why online school?" She asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

"No particular reason. It's just easier to stay hidden that way. Ghoul investigator children are put on heavy security because it would be good payback against an investigator if you go after their kids. If there is no record of me there's no secret service." He answered.

"Guess you have a point."

He then turned to her, wrapping the towel around the back of his neck and said. "Since it's Q-and-A hour. My turn. Why were you staring at me?"

The Brit had caught her staring. Her face inflamed once again as she stammered. "N-no I wasn't."

"Yes, you were." He argued. "I know when I'm being watched. A good instinct to have and you were staring at me. Last night and today. Though today it was for several minutes."

The high school girl squeaked. "Several minutes?"

"Yep. So, why?" He asked.

She kind of shrunk in on herself embarrassedly and made up an excuse. "It's your scars. I didn't know you had them or had so many."

Marcus looked down at his scar covered body. He's very self-conscious about his pleasant little badges from his time on the street when he's in public. As numerous and as odd as some of them are, they would attract a lot of attention. At home, though he usually walks around shirtless, more than used to them. Akira had gotten over them years ago. He had kind of fallen back into habit without thought to Touka's reaction. Though he should've expected it. His mother had a much similar startled reaction.

"Oh. Totally forgot about them." Marcus mumbled. "I'll get a shirt."

"No, wait." She said quickly as she leaped out of the chair to stand in his way.

Startled by her sudden movement, Marcus stopped. Touka had no idea what she was doing or thinking. She wondered if she was thinking at all. She was just acting. On what, she had no clue. Nonetheless, she just went through the motions. The young women hesitantly raised her hands and started tracing his numerous scars. There were so many of various sizes. A few stood out among the rest. On one of his shoulders was a gnarled scar like it had been gnawed on. There was another that took up most of his forearm and part of his upper arm. It was from a second-degree burn and had faded quite nicely. Then there was a set that stood out from the rest. Four large puncture wound scars in a tight grouping on his chest. They seemed to have come from much deeper wounds that the rest and were the size of golf balls. The rest looked like grazes and near misses but those four looked to be the only ones that were direct hits. She kept note of those particular scars.

"You look like you were tossed in a meat grinder," Touka said quietly.

Marcus chuckled solemnly. "Accurate analogy."

She shook her head. "How'd you survive?"

"Raw instinct." He answered. "These are my badges for surviving the worst that Tokyo had to offer. It's also a reminder of what Mom gave me. Look at me, another year or two I would've been dead. She gave me a whole life, and I don't plan to waste it."

She paused to think about what he said before replying. "I see. It makes sense now I guess. I mean, I get where you're coming from. Been there myself. However, physical scans are one thing, mentally is entirely different. Something like that should leave you a psychopath but you seem 'bout as same as any other person."

The Kakuja frowned internally. He didn't like where she was going with this. It was getting too close to Xeno and he wasn't quite ready to tell her. "Well, I hear that being mysterious was healthy and attractive."

"Don't let your head get too big." She warned jovially. The high schooler was aware that he was dodging but let it go. To survive the kind of exodus you go to a dark place. Been there, done that.

"Might be too late." He joked before walking past her towards his room. "I'm gonna hit the shower."

Marcus stepped into his room closing the door behind him. Touka watched at the door with a look of half suspicion and half worry. It was clear to her that he was withholding a lot from her but she could forgive him for that. He probably did a lot of things he wasn't proud of, just to survive. Lord knows she did and she knew that it wasn't an easy thing to talk about. To admit that he was as monstrous as the humans believed them to be. Then she thought about his scars. She got so entranced and concerned. She rubbed at her face and sighed before sitting in the chair. She was getting soft. As a rule, she didn't let people in. It was too easy to get hurt that. Yoriko was an accident, she hadn't meant for her to be so important. Marcus was weaseling his way in, like her human friend.

Just like then, she couldn't tell if it was a bad thing or a good thing. Marcus is always a comfort to be around with his laid back and fun loving attitude. Whenever she was around him she felt at ease and relaxed. He had that effect on a lot of people. It was easy to forget one's troubles at the mere sight of that smile. However, that kind of personality is not worth much in the world of ghouls. Evidence: Kaneki. Which was why she had been so hesitant to have any form of relationship with him. She worried that just when she let him in, someone or something might take him away. Leaving her hurt and broken again. Well, she used to think that. Then she saw those scars of his. It proved that he wouldn't end up dying on her easily, he had been through too much for that. She would give this thing some

One problem at a time, though. Before she can step out of her comfort zone, she would have to open up her schedule and get to work studying for the tests that were coming up. She practically became nauseous at the thought of having anything to do with classic literature. That class has it out for her. Steeling herself, she got and walked towards Marcus' room to grab her bag. As she neared the door, a flash of insight and a lovely image of a birthday suit Marcus made her stop. She pressed her ear against the door and listened.

It is not an obscure fact that ghouls have heightened senses, nearly on par if not surpassing most animals. Especially predators. What's not quite known to the public but painfully aware to the CCG, is that with practice and training they can focus their senses to detect the presence of people in other rooms or in complete darkness up to dozens. Touka had practiced in this talent but was rather pathetic at it. She could only reach up to thirty feet in open spaces and could track up to three people semi-accurately. She had to press her ear against a door or wall to vaguely guess at the position of a single person. In comparison, Irimi, who heavily specialized in this ability, could stretch out her senses out to a couple hundred yards in open space and could sense an entire apartment building given that it was within fifty yards while giving an accurate warm body count. The teenage ghoul wasn't all that talented in this particular skill but was proficient enough for this.

As she listened, she was met with the sound of running shower water as expected and something else, something surprising. Singing. At first, she thought it was a recording or he was playing it on his phone. After focusing in on it, she noticed that it didn't have the same quiet distort that's imperceptible to human ears but clear to ghouls. Her jaw dropped as she realized that it was Marcus who was singing. She stood there leaning against the door, in a stunned shock, mesmerized by his voice. She had heard the song before and as near as she could tell he was hitting the notes dead on. Honestly, he never struck her the type that could sing and do it well. She filed it later for later reference before entering the room, still slightly dumbstruck, and grabbed her school bag then left. As she sat back down at the island in the kitchen, taking out her notebooks and textbooks in the process she found herself humming Monochrome no Kiss.

* * *

"You know what, dude?" Hide asked.

Kaneki hummed in a curious response.

"You're looking a lot better these days," The human stated.

The half-breed stammered in surprise. "A-am I?"

"Yeah!" The dirty blonde assured with enthusiasm. "You were as pale as a zombie at one point."

"A zombie, huh?" The black haired student mumbled. 'How fitting."

Kaneki was back at school, enjoying what seemed to be his first normal day in a long time. The two of them had some time before the newly established ghoul had to go to work and were enjoying some casual conversation. It was a good feeling for him. A kind of hope that amidst all the new experiences and the new world that he been thrust into, there was a chance for normalcy. That he could have a somewhat normal life if he could just control his hunger. Which, thanks to the sugar cubes, made that feat seem possible. It also seemed to help his complexion which would help keep his identity as a ghoul secret. He was aware that eventually, he would really have to eat flesh as he wouldn't be able to survive long without it. He would cross that bridge when it came.

As they continued conversing, Hide asking about work and Touka, a woman walked up to the table. She was cute, like the girl next door cute. Around college age and of average height. She had the rounded soft features inherent to the Japanese. She had long shoulder length light brown hair with bangs that were cut in a straight line, the edge just below her eyebrows. Her eyes were brown and were softened with worry and nervousness. She wore semi-formal clothing of tan dress pants with an off-centered bow tied around her waist and an unbuttoned business jacket. Underneath the jacket was a cream colored blouse with horizontal pinstripes. She carried with her a light brown purse.

Hide was the first to notice her and turned his attention to her. "Can I help you?"

"You're…" The woman asked. She had a silvery voice, but it was tinted with uncertainty. "…Hide, right?"

The dirty blonde student recognized her. "You're Nishio's girlfriend, aren't you? Kimi?"

Kimi didn't respond instead opting for digging around in her purse. pulling out a clear CD case with a DVD in it and handing it to the more outgoing person. "This is from Nishiki."

"A DVD? Oh, for the school festival!" He exclaimed as he accepted the disc.

Having done what had been asked of her by Nishiki, she turned and stated tersely. "I just came here to give that to you."

As she started to walk away, Hide stopped her with a cry. "Wait! Which hospital is Nishio at? We wanna go visit him but…"

Hide had been completely innocent in his asking about Nishio's. He was only vaguely aware of what really happened in that alley. The most he remembered was flashes of a showdown between two ghouls, as near as he could tell, with red and blue tentacles or tails, though it was a little blurry. Between that and overhearing the conversation between that and hearing the conversation between Kaneki, Marcus, and Yoshimura; he could put the pieces together. However, he wanted to talk to Nishio and make sure he was correct. He also wanted to make sure that the other ghoul hadn't gotten to the hazelnut haired student.

Kimi, however, was fully aware of what happened, thanks to her boyfriend. After quite a dramatic reveal and a quick bite, Nishio had laid the events out for her as truthfully as he felt comfortable. Then he requested her to bring the disc to Hide. She was so hesitant but did as she asked. Even though Nishio wasn't in a hospital she knew that she was being rather unfair to her fellow human who friended a ghoul but Kaneki was there. He was the one who hurt her beloved so severely. Even if her lover was in the hospital she wouldn't mention where, not in front of him. Thus, resumed walking away at a more brisk pace leaving Hide confused at what he said to make her leave.

The whole time Kaneki was completely suspicious of Kimi. He fully knew that Nishio wasn't in a hospital. He couldn't imagine a quicker way to be discovered as a ghoul except for walking into the CCG headquarters. So, that meant he was at home receiving some kind of treatment. That left the question, what was she doing here. Had she been sent here with the festival file by Nishiki to check up on them? See what condition they in and how would they react? He continued down that line of logic on the assumption that the answer was yes. He came to a new question. Did she know that her boyfriend was a ghoul or was she a ghoul herself? The half-breed's lack of ability in keeping was evident then and there as his face showed his suspicious thoughts in a cold and hatred filled expression.

"Kaneki." Hide said worriedly, having noticed Kaneki's expression.

Kaneki broke out of his cynical thought process with a startle. "Huh?"

His human friend looked at him with a deadpan expression. "You shoulda seen you face. You don't have to get that upset just cuz she ignored me."

"Oh… Could you tell?" The ghoul laughed nervously at being caught.

His phone started beeping an alarm. He pulled out his phone and turned off his alarm reminding him he had to go to work soon.

"You got work again today?" Hide asked.

"Yeah," Kaneki said.

As the half-breed got up to get going, his friend advised him not to work himself too hard then they said their goodbyes. Kaneki stopped by his home to change into his work clothes before heading towards Anteiku. The coffee shop had a relatively light crowd today allowing for him to be casual about doing his job. As he worked he couldn't help but notice that both Touka and Marcus hadn't shown up today. He also noticed all the rumor mill that were passing between the ghouls that had come into the shop. They whispered about doves, the code word for investigators, coming into the twentieth ward and killing a particularly rowdy ghoul. Also rumors of sightings of Xeno in the twentieth ward followed by rebuking evidence of other people saying he's shown up in another ward but never really did. Kaneki wondered if this is part of how he stayed hidden from the CCG. By existing as a creepy pasta for ghouls. Investigators generally think ghouls are psychopaths. If one started ranting about some monster, it would only add to the image. With no real evidence that he existed, the CCG would never look into it. It was genius.

Yoshimura strode up beside the half ghoul as he was pouring another pot, and asked. "How's everything going, Kaneki?"

Having not noticed the manager's approach, Kaneki looked at him in surprise. Albeit not in the exaggeration that Marcus gives. "Oh. Hi, Mr. Yoshimura. It's going good, I guess."

"That's good." The older ghoul nodded. "Uta said the mask is coming along nicely. Said he's _inspired_."

"Is that right?" The college student laughed nervously. "So Touka took the day off today. Marcus, too."

"Yes, she has exams coming up." The gray-haired ghoul clarified. "She's such a hard worker. Everybody's favorite waitress needs some time off once in a while. Marcus is taking some time to rehabilitate his arm. Which reminds me. I have a favor I'd like to ask you. Are you free tonight?"

"Uh, yeah." The teenager replied positively. "Do you need me to close up or something?"

"Actually, I'd like you to go on a food run with one of our staff," Yoshimura stated straight-faced despite the insinuations. "I usually have Touka go. So I was hoping you could go tonight."

Treated to an absolutely terrifying image of Touka with a devilish smirk, and a butcher's hatchet, the newer ghoul panicked. "B-but, I can't k-"

"Don't worry. You won't be doing anything like that." The old man assured.

The half-ghoul paused to think about it. How were they procuring more of those meat packages without killing anyone? It was obvious that it wasn't a run of coffee. They have enough to last them until doomsday. The only way to know what his boss meant was to see for himself. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll do it."

The gray-haired ghoul smiled warmly. "Great. Thank you. I'll let Yomo know you're coming."

The half-ghoul student tilted slightly to the side in confusion. 'Yomo?'

After closing hours Kaneki was given an address to the location to meet Yomo, and a description of Yomo himself. The address led the half-ghoul to the outskirts of the twentieth ward and central Tokyo. As he waited underneath a crosswalk overpass he wondered about the man he was meeting. He had heard the name thrown around here and there. Particularly in the retellings of the event known as "Marcus being a fucking idiot and breaking his goddamn arm". Title copyrighted by Kirishima Industry. With infraction under punishment of her fist to your face. The college student simply viewed it as a warning of how strong Yomo is. He is more than painfully aware of how powerful Marcus is. The mysterious member of Anteiku matching the No Eyed Demon is a terrifying thought. He was aware the Kakuja wasn't using his Kagune to any extent, neither was the other guy.

Just then, a black four-door sedan, Japanese make, cruised up in front of Kaneki with the driver side facing him. Engine still running, the driver side door opened and Yomo stepped out. He was wearing bland clothing as is his custom. Gray buttoned up coat that made it to just above his knees and darker gray slacks. Combined with his emotionless expression, he looked bland. The half-breed felt like he stood out in his plain clothing of jeans, light jacket, and a dark t-shirt. The only way the taller ghoul seems to stand out is his height and white hair, though his coat has a hood which takes care of the hair.

"Uh… Are you Yomo?" Kaneki asked hesitantly. "I-I'm Kaneki Ken. I came in place of Touka."

"I know," Yomo interjected indifferently. "Get in."

Slightly stunned by Yomo's abrasiveness, Kaneki got in the car on the passenger side as Yomo got back behind the wheel. The background operator of Anteiku drove the two of them further out from the city up to the mountain roads. The entire time there was an awkward, tense silence between the two of them. At least, it was awkward for the half-ghoul. The other guy looked rather unperturbed as he drove. The college student had attempted to break the ice and got only a single word with sullen silence. They pulled up to turnout next to a cliff blocked by guard rails. There was a white sedan that they parked behind. Wordlessly, the white-haired ghoul turned off the car and got out. He walked around to the trunk, popped it open, and pulled out a nylon duffle bag.

During this, the teenager got out and walked to the edge of the cliff. He couldn't help but note the sixty-foot drop. "Whoa. We're high up. What're we doing here?"

Ignoring him, Yomo closed the trunk and joined his fellow Anteiku member at the edge then looked down the cliff. Slightly annoyed at being ignored, Kaneki leaned against the guard railing to look over the cliff as well.

"Don't lean against that." The white haired ghoul stated just as the railing broke beneath the half-breed's hands. "You'll fall."

By the time he processed the fact he was about to fall to his death, Kaneki was already well already past the point of recovery. By the time he had processed Yomo's warning and the fact it was too little too late. He was ten feet down and screaming like a girl. The sensation of helplessness, of falling, installed a very real and strong sense of fear and terror. He knew it, he was going to die. A quick fall, a sudden stop, and then death. He probably wouldn't even feel it. For a few seconds, he started to accept it, like a lamb being brought to the slaughter. Then something rose up inside of him. An instinctual urge crawled up from deep within. The urge to live. He stopped thinking and acted. A pair of red scaly tentacles that made up his Kagune formed on the small of his back and lashed out and impaled themselves into the cliff face. They slowed his descent to a survivable speed and he hit the ground with a huff of air as the wind got knocked out of him. His Kagune also disintegrated on impact. He landed in a clearing surrounded by woods.

Kaneki lied there gasping for air. He had only heard about the sensation of having the wind knocked out of you and knew it sucked. Now, having felt it for himself, he knew that "sucked" was a pitiful summary. It more feels like you're going to die because air seems to think you had messed around with its daughter and is now trying to choke you to death. Once he settled things with air and got it back in his lungs, he sat up and looked at the two long gashes in the cliff face. He remembered the feeling before his Rinkaku came out. Then he tried to imagine the same sensation with its own will as another presence in his mind. Constantly fighting to get out and act on the instinctual urges it was made off. In that moment, the half-breed had a newer understanding of the relationship between Marcus and Xeno, and a better sense of sympathy for him. You have to let that beast out otherwise he's going to tear his way out and you with it.

Kaneki stood and started looking around for a way back up. As he did, his foot bumped into something. The half-breed looked down and screamed. Yomo let out a puff of annoyance before jumping off the cliff. He bounced once off a rock that jutted from the cliff to slow his momentum before landing in a crouch beside the college student. Ten feet away, lay the corpse of a businessman, his head in an unnatural position, bent backward and twisted. His chest compressed slightly. The scent of blood soaked earth mixed with a day decomposition lingered in the air and burned nose hairs. In his shock at seeing the body, the dark haired ghoul had stumbled back, fallen to the ground and pressed his back to the cliff.

"Is this your first time seeing a body?" Yomo said, looking at the half-breed. "The other car up there. Probably belonged this guy. People come here to die when life gets too hard. Ghouls too. We've kept it hidden by cleaning it."

"S-so, the people at Anteiku. They made a choice to eat suicide victims." Kaneki stuttered.

Yomo calmly clarified. "I haven't chosen anything. I still kill to feed, sometimes. So do Touka and the others. It's a part of our nature. That's what makes ghouls like Mrs. Fueguchi and her daughter unique. They have never claimed a kill in their lives and have been able to avoid going to that road. That's what it comes down to. A decision to stand for others and avoid killing, or to stand for yourself and start claiming lives to further your own. You will have to make that decision one day. I already have. I only do this because Mr. Yoshimura asked me to and he's a good ally to have on hand when things go bad. That's the only reason why I'm all the way out here with you."

He lifted the bag from his shoulders and dropped it at the younger ghoul's, in more way than one, feet. "Put him in this. I'll take care of the other one over there." He gestured to a corpse that lay closer to the edge of the woods.

Panic and horror started flooding adrenaline into Kaneki's veins as what felt like a lead weight dropped in the bottom of his stomach. He couldn't do this. No way in hell could he do that. Yomo looked at him before releasing a quiet, long, and suffering sigh. He had expected the kid to not have the mettle to do something like this. Though he had hoped the speech would have given the brat enough strength to do this just for one night. The white haired ghoul should've known better. The half-breed was clinging too strongly onto his humanity. Maybe the hidden member of Anteiku had been too harsh with his word. Nonetheless, it made Kaneki Ken's presence here pointless.

"Fine. Get out of the way." Yomo snarled as he picked up the bag and moved over to the corpse.

Kaneki slumped slightly where he sat, pouting to himself about how there was no way he could do this. Then his train of thought suddenly derailed as Yomo set down the bag, raised his hands and pressed them together palm to palm while bowing his head. The half-breed felt stunned by this action. The palms pressed together is a frequent symbol across many cultures and could mean many things. It has a place in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, just to name a few. In Japan, it's placed is in their basic table manners. They clap their hands together when saying thanks for the meal. So when the hidden member of Anteiku used it there could be several meanings. Though, the college student didn't see the older ghoul to be a religious type. It was still a possibility.

After Yomo stuffed the bodies into the bag much to Kaneki's disgust, they climbed the cliff face back to the car. Rather the half-ghoul was thrown onto the other ghoul's back and he hauled them both up. Yomo started the car and pulled a U-turn directing them back to town. The student thought more on the actions of his fellow Anteiku member back at the cliff. He wondered about the meaning behind the action. The taller ghoul didn't appear to be all that fond of humans. However, maybe, he felt bad about it. After all, a life had been lost and their corpse was being used as food. It could be some kind of homage to the gift these people had unintentionally given.

Before he could finish that line of thought, Yomo's eyes flickered to the right quickly and he slammed on the brakes. It wasn't hard enough to make the tires squeal but it was hard enough to throw Kaneki forward in the seat and crack his head on the dashboard. As he rubbed his forehead, he noticed that they were parked in the middle of intersecting side streets. The white-haired ghoul suddenly climbed out of the car before the teenager had a chance to ask why they had stopped. When the younger ghoul stared after his elder in confusion he noticed someone else walking down the street that was perpendicular to the car. A closer look revealed that it was Ryouko Fueguchi. She had on a black sweatshirt and a long, black skirt that went down to her thighs. The skirt had a floral pattern on it. Yomo walked straight towards with a near casual calmness, stopping behind her.

Ryouko heard the footsteps and turned around. She looked innocently surprised. "Oh. Yomo, what a coincidence."

"You've been told not to walk around by yourself. It's dangerous." Yomo chided though he had no real malice or insult behind it. "I'll take you home. Please, get in."

"Uh, okay."

Yomo led her back to the car. He climbed back in the driver's seat while Ryouko walked around the floor to get in the passenger seat. Kaneki had rolled the window down in his patient wait for the white haired ghoul which allowed the mother to see him. "Oh, Kaneki."

"Mrs. Fueguchi." Replied Kaneki respectfully.

"Hi. Mind if I join you?" She asked warmly. The hidden member of Anteiku unlocked the rear passenger door with a switch, letting her in. "Well, this is a surprise. You usually do this with Touka."

After the mother had climbed in, closed the door, and buckled in, Yomo shifted into gear and resumed driving. "Touka took the day off. He's her replacement."

She nodded and turned to the half-breed. "Oh, I know how hard it can be. Thank you for doing this for us."

"O-oh, no. I just…" He stammered embarrassedly. Technically, he didn't do anything.

The spy for Anteiku suddenly stated strictly. "We're not only doing for you and your daughter. No need to do thank us."

The lone woman in the car lowered her head, downtrodden. She detected the light touch of anger in his voice and she knew why. "You must be angry that I go to visit my husband's grave."

"I'm not saying you can't go see your husband." He clarified. "The problem is that you're doing it alone. Rize attracted the doves but they've locked in on you."

Kaneki remembered that dove was the code word, for lack of a better term, for an investigator. Rize had thrown up several neon signs for the CCG and ghoul organizations when she went on her binges. However, she died, landing Kaneki in his current situation and ending her psychopathic and sexually driven killing spree. The attention had already been drawn by this point and the CCG believed the binge eater still lived under incognito mode. They needed something to do while they waited for someone that would never show up. Doing their job seemed a good way to pass the time. The half-breed didn't get why they had chosen to pick the mother and her daughter. They were living entirely of off Anteiku's care packages and hadn't killed anyone, at least, not recently in Ryouko's case. It didn't make any sense as to why they were picking on the two of them.

"Mrs. Fueguchi." Yomo cautioned. "If you want to keep Hinami out of it, from now on, please don't-"

She interjected sadly. "I know. I truly do. I heard from Mr. Yoshimura that they're very close. I went to bury his mask in his grave tonight. I know I can't keep mourning him. I have to be strong for Hinami's sake."

'In any world, a mother's love for her child is strong.' Kaneki thought as they made their way back to Anteiku.

All three of them hadn't noticed the two pairs of eyes that had watched Ryouko get in the car.

* * *

Touka closed her textbook with a sigh of relief and tiredness. She has been working non-stop since that morning, studying for her tests. Bouncing between subjects to keep her from frying her brain too much on just one. Marcus had been a respectable host by keeping it quiet as possible and allowing her to study. He mostly did whatever came to his mind. Reading some manga, watching anime on his laptop with headphones plugged in, and doing some of his online studies. Overall just keeping it quiet for her. He even made sure his rehabilitation of his arm, was quite as possible. To which she was thankful for. She had completely burnt out her brain on her studies. If her brain was an engine, her current condition would be the equivalent of a blown piston. The teenage girl looked up at the clock and noticed that it was nearing midnight.

"Really?" She said disbelievingly.

She suddenly felt bad for Marcus. Touka had stayed at the island working throughout the day. She didn't realize that she had run so late. The Kakuja had stayed up with her as she studied even though she was sure that he would like to sleep. She turned to where she had last seen him, laid back in his love seat and reading one of his manga, to apologize for taking so long. Then she noticed that the Brit's head was lolled back against the back of his seat and the hand holding the Japanese comic was limp on the arm of the furniture. He held the book with such a light grip that a feather could make it fall out of his hands. The purple haired teen got up, walked over to him and sure enough, he was well into the land of dreams. She felt slightly dumbfounded that he had pushed himself, even though he was bone tired from exercising most of the day, to the point where he fell asleep reading. For her.

She scoffed amusingly and shook her head. "Idiot."

Touka plucked the book from the sleeping boy's hand and found the bookmark on the floor. Placing the bookmark on the page he had left off, close it, and set it on the floor by the love seat. Then she moved onto the difficult task of scooting Marcus into a laid down position. She soon noticed his ability to sleep like a rock. He never even stirred as she shifted him a few inches down, accidentally causing his head to slowly start sliding then pick up speed before thumping against the padded arm of the love seat. She propped up his legs on the other arm and adjusted him so that he looked more comfortable. She then noticed a pillow and blanket tucked between the seat and the wall. Propping the pillow behind his head and draping the sheet over him, she felt satisfied with herself.

As she took some time to watch, Touka couldn't help but admit to herself that Marcus was cute when he slept. He had a peaceful expression and she could faintly see his eyes shifting beneath his eyelids, revealing that he was dreaming. The purple haired ghoul's inner eye presented an image of her sleeping with him. Curled up against his warm solid chest with his strong arms holding her close. She then chalked that thought up to mental exhaustion and raging teenage hormones. She was open to the idea of a friendship with him but anything further was outlandish and stupid. You can't think straight when fawning over someone. She needed to focus on keeping Anteiku safe from harm and she couldn't do that if she was worried about that loveable idiot. There was no room in the ghoul realm for that kind of sentiments. Then she said those thirteen words to herself out loud. She used to say it with conviction and solidity. Now, though, it seemed a little harder to say.

Touka rubbed at her face tiredly and groaned quietly. "You're over thinking this. Just go to bed."

Following her own instruction, she packed up her things and went back to Marcus' room. More than looking forward to sleeping in that cloud of a bed.

* * *

"Numbers 720 and 722, nothing out of the ordinary," Amon stated, reading his notes written on a small notepad. "Number 721 had Donut Meister's Chocolate Crunkie and cinnamon and a cup of coffee."

Kureo then continued from memory. "No changes in expression, no use of the restroom either. Ordering coffee is a bit concerning. Keep up the surveillance."

Kureo and Amon were having a casual meeting with the other pair of investigators that operated in the twentieth ward. One was a young wiry guy with round glasses and short black hair. the other was an older gentleman with a five o'clock shadow and shorter dark hair. They set up shop in one of the lounges in the branch office, collating data and comparing notes. Everyone was wearing simple black suits, even Kureo. Meetings like this didn't meet the necessity of wearing his usual outfit. They didn't have any hunting planned for that day, just a bunch of brainstorming and a strong scent of burning batteries.

"What about number 723, gentlemen in charge of the twentieth ward?" Kureo asked the other two investigators.

"Y-yes, sir." The wiry investigator stammered. "The suspect boarded the train and got off at the fifth station. The headed towards point B. We almost lost her but reacquired her in front of what appeared to be a stone monument at point C in the files. After a dozen minutes or so she proceeded to travel on foot. She then entered the car of what we believe to be an acquaintance of hers and headed back home."

"Did you get the license plate number?" Amon suddenly asked.

Startled by the question the clearly inexperienced investigator replied nervously. "Um, I'm sorry, we didn't-"

The taller man interjected. "And couldn't the stone monument actually be a grave? If we could find a connection between the items buried there and number 696, we can establish number 723 as a ghoul. Why didn't you take those steps?"

The older investigator, dark haired looked pensive while the rookie looked horrified and sputtered out. "Are you saying that I should've dug up a grave? That's immoral!"

"Immoral?" The more righteous investigator said coldly as he fingered a cross that hung over his tie while Kureo looked rather prideful. "You can't crush evil with morals. We are justice. We _are_ morality. Ghouls are monsters and aren't allowed the right of peaceful rest."

With that, it was decided that the meeting was over and the two pairs of investigators went their separate ways. Kureo watched amusedly Amon walk with a heated step and growled. "Honestly, I'm appalled by the negligence of the investigators of this ward. They're just going through the motions. They lack a sense of duty! That's why the ghouls are having their way!"

The white haired investigator chuckled. A near maniacal sound. "Now, now. Don't get so worked up, Amon. Isn't that why we're here? Your heart is burning with righteous indignation. That flame is scattering sparks that may set fire elsewhere. That fire of yours will one day spread to others seeking a just world. The point is whether you have a torch in your heart or not. To light a fire for others. I believe I have a torch too. You've been a good influence for me. However, I must say that I'm tired of walking. You walk so fast. We'll continue this tomorrow. I'll meet you in the lobby."

The young investigator replied. "Yes, sir."

Kureo went to the elevator at the end of the hall they were walking down, planning on going home. He also had a few things to take care of. Amon instead turned down an adjacent hall, heading towards his office to review the evidence they had collected and see if he could scrape up any more conclusions. As he walked, he ended up passing a young female assistant leading a small child by the hand. The child was a young boy and his eyes had this distant haunted look. Staring straight ahead but never focusing on anything. Practically dead to the world. He was one of the many orphans that the Child Care Department end up watching over. It's always easy to tell which ones are new by looking in their eyes. The trauma of the event lingers for a month or two afterward.

Images of a bloodied altar in front of a large crucifix and a manic grin, all illuminated by light let in by an open door, flashed through Amon's head. The silver cross around his neck suddenly carried a massive weight. It wasn't a physical weight but a mental one. The memories and the semblance it carried for him made it seem like the sterling silver chain were attached to a ten-ton steel cube. A blazing fire surged up inside him; the hot, unquenchable fire of rage, vengeance, and a desire for justice. The kind of fire that could only be born from a traumatic experience and a strong need to prevent that experience from happening to anyone else. His fists were clenching so hard that if he hadn't clipped his nails that morning, he would've drawn blood.

"Screw it." He snarled. "I'm not gonna sit and wait!"

Amon took off at a dead sprint. Not having the patience to wait for the slow as hell elevator, he burst into the stairwell and ran towards for the ground floor. After getting to the bottom, he made for the groundskeepers closet for a shovel. He knew where it was from his days at the Academy doing garden duty. Shovel in hand, he sped towards his car, clambered to get in, start it and get going. He drove like lunatic, bending every traffic law possible as far they could go without breaking them. He reached the forest where the other twentieth ward investigators claimed the grave was. He barely thought about turning about shutting off the car and locking it. He quickly found the grave and started digging. After a foot of dirt, he heard the thump of the shovel hitting something that wasn't dirt. He then dug with his fingers until he found something. A white opera mask identified as ghoul 696's mask. 696 is also known as Asaki Fueguchi, husband to Ryouko, and father to Hinami. They had both identified as ghouls and put under the hatchet off the CCG.

* * *

"Kaneki," Koma called out.

"Yeah?"

"You mind bringing down some coffee bags from upstairs?" The outgoing ghoul asked. "The ones with the red label."

The half-breed responded emphatically. "Sure thing, Mr. Koma."

Kaneki strode through the door behind the counter and headed up the stairs. He made his to the top and started looking for which room would most likely to hold the coffee beans. As he walked down the hallway, he heard the sounds of silverware clanking against the ceramic of a plate. It was coming from the meeting room. The half-ghoul didn't know that somebody had come in. Curious, he opened the door and poked his head in. In hindsight, he knew that he should've know better. What other reason would there be for the use of a plate and silverware?

Kaneki bore witness to young Hinami who wore a yellow floral print dress with a hand band with flowers; there was a large napkin wrapped around her neck and draped down her front. Her brown eyes were replaced with the eyes of ghouls, Kakugans, and there on the table in front of her was a plate with a steak sized slab of raw flesh and a few fingers. She had a knife in one hand, laid down by the plate and a fork in the other, holding a chunk of meat near her mouth. Blood was dabbed around her lips and some had dripped onto the napkin.

Kaneki flipped out, not having fully adjusted to the idea of devouring human flesh. He screamed and stumbled back, falling on his ass. "H-Hinami! I didn't know you were here!"

The girl had a blank expression but there was a light near imperceptible hint of distress as she wiped at her mouth. The polite manner only serving to freak out the college student more. "Sorry. I didn't know. E-enjoy your meal."

He stumbled out the door and shut it behind him. He felt so stupid for doing that. He finally found the bag of coffee beans and brought it back down to Koma.

"Thanks, Kaneki," Koma said as he was pouring a fresh cup of coffee then he noted. "Hinami's upstairs. Hope you didn't walk in on her."

"Wish you would've told me sooner," Kaneki replied dryly.

"Ooh, you saw her eating, didn't ya?" The half-breed nodded, distressed. Prompting the pompadour-haired ghoul to explain. "You shouldn't have done that. We don't like to be seen like that, especially girls. It's a vanity thing. You should probably go apologize."

"Is it really something I need to apologize for?" The college student asked unknowingly of how rude he was being.

The outgoing ghoul said to himself. "Not very sensitive are you."

Koma had to remember to keep a more open mind when he dealt with Kaneki. The teenager has only been a ghoul for less than a month. He hasn't caught onto all the social cues quite yet. He was like someone who just moved to a new country. People like that didn't know a damn thing about how things worked. It takes some time to learn and adjust to the new environment. It was usually difficult enough but in the ghoul realm, it's either sink or swim. That's part of what Anteiku was built upon, helping others to learn how to swim. It was their job as members of Anteiku to help the half-breed adjust to the new 'country' he was in.

"Is Hinami's mother here too?" Kaneki asked.

"She's down here talking to the manager," Koma answered before handing the half-breed the cup of coffee he just made. "Here, take this and go tell Hinami you're sorry."

"Uh, okay." The student replied hesitantly.

Kaneki took the cup and went upstairs back to the meeting room door. He knocked on it. "Hinami, can I come in?"

Her answer was faint. "Yes."

He opened the door and stepped in. Hinami was done with her meal; the plate, silverware, and napkin were gone from sight. She had a book in her hands, and she was reading it until he knocked. She was now looking at him with no particular expression.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Kaneki apologized setting the cup on the table in front of her. "Here. It's on the house. Stay as long as you want."

As he turned to walk away, Hinami said nervously. "Um…"

He stopped and looked at her, humming questioningly. "What's up?"

She hesitated. She had smelled it before and wanted to ask about it but was shy. Mustering up some courage, she asked. "What are you?"

The half-breed stiffened in shock. This was the first time he had been asked that. He muttered, shakily. "Um…"

She noticed that she had messed up and gasped apologetically. "N-never mind. I'm… I'm sorry. Your scent… is way different from everyone'. Usually, I can tell if you were one of us, even if you're really far away."

The dark haired ghoul remembered how Uta said the same thing about the way he smelled. Then he tried to explain his situation to the adolescent girl in the most simple terms possible. "I used to be a normal human, but things happened and I have some ghoul mixed inside me. I can't eat normal foods anymore. I think I'm actually closer to your kind now."

"You used to be human?" She asked, stupefied. Setting down the book so that she could listen more closely.

"I'd say my soul is human and my body is a ghoul." He continued then started musing. "I wish I could go back to what I was, but…"

The young girl sensed his discomfort and apologized. "I'm sorry for asking."

He waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I'm such a freak."

"You're not a freak but you are kinda strange." She replied shyly.

Kaneki found it hard to believe that this shy, quiet girl eating 'meat' earlier. Goes to show that judging a book by his cover isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Then his train of thought took a hard, ADHD level right turn as he noticed what book she was reading.

"Hey! _Monochrome Rainbow_!" He exclaimed as he picked up the book and started flicking through taking care to save her place. "You read Takatsuki?!"

Hinami sat there stunned by his sudden outburst as he kept going. "Her stuff's difficult to read but I guess _Monochrome_ 's a collection of short stories, so it's pretty easy. Which story do you like? Lemme guess, the psychological thriller _Summer Diary_ , or the comedy _Resentment_?"

She hesitated before stammering out something; like she could vaguely remember it or didn't know how it was said. "K…koyo…koyotokiame?"

" _Koyotokiame_?" He repeated thoughtfully, giving the book back to her. He didn't know that one until he realized that she had mistranslated the kanji. "Oh, you mean _Sayoshigure_. That one became the prototype for _Egg of the Black Goat_. You like the scarier ones, huh?"

"Proto…Sayoshigure?" The young girl mumbled to herself as she tried to process everything he said. It became very clear to her that he was smart so she pointed to one of the words in her book and asked. "U-um how do you read this?"

"Ajisai." He answered pleasantly.

"What about this one. Anton…shi?" She nervously attempted.

The college student kindly corrected. "Anrakushi."

The adolescent nodded then pointed to another one. "Is this one Haki?

He quickly noted that she didn't know her Kanji all that well. He answered still pleasant. "That's written as thin ice and read Hakuhyo, but it can also be read as Usurai. That sounds prettier, doesn't it?"

She smiled as her cheeks tinted. Her smile was like a summer sunrise. She replied with a child-like wonder. "Yeah."

She opened a notebook that was sitting on the table and picked up a pencil that sat nearby. She started writing down notes sounding out the words as she wrote them.

Kaneki leaned over to get a closer look and saw previous notes on kanji and the pronunciations of words. He commented. "Wow, taking notes?"

Hinami's eyes shifted to the side shyly as she said. "I – I don't go to school, so I write down everything I learn in this. Mom said I should."

"I – I see." He replied hesitantly.

In a way, it made a kind of sense. Mrs. Fueguchi probably keeps Hinami out of school so she wouldn't have to walk on that thin tightrope sat between a peaceful life and utter death. Having just started going back to school himself, he can attest to how hard it is to keep his identity as a ghoul a secret. If it was hard for him as a nineteen-year-old to hold a poker face, Hinami as a thirteen-year-old would have an even harder time. A simple Freudian Slip and it would be over. The young girl also hadn't had gained the sense of paranoia and mistrust that would be necessary to operate safely in a school environment. She might end up telling her secret, and tell it to the wrong person. It makes sense but it was kinda sad. She wanted to learn with a burning passion. It was almost a crime to keep her out of school, to deny her the chance to learn. Unfortunately, it was one of the things that she was forced to give in this world of theirs.

"What about this one? Does it mean something similar to shigure?" Hinami asked, pointing to another Kanji symbol.

"That's shuu," Kaneki answered. She may have been forced to give up school but that didn't mean she would have to give up the chance to learn even if he had to teach her himself.

"Shuu?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Yeah. It means a sudden rain shower."

"So from now on you'll be feeding on your own?" Yoshimura asked.

"Yes," Ryouko answered softly. "I can't keep relying on Anteiku. It's what I want."

They were in Yoshimura's personal office; a Spartan room with a simple wood desk in the center with windows in the back covered by shades, only letting in dim light. There was a small bookshelf with several binders and notebooks on it. The manager was wearing his usual outfit of black slacks, white dress shirt, and black vest. Ryouko was wearing a long orange skirt, and her own white dress shirt.

"I'm still terrified of harming anybody." She said meekly but gained confidence. "But I think I can do what Yomo does."

"If that's what you've decided, I understand." He smiled with a grandfatherly smile. "I will ask Yomo which spots he recommends. We help each other here at Anteiku."

She nodded and placed her hand over her heart, smiling, in a thankful gesture. "Thank you."

"Then what about this one?" Hinami pointed to another word ecstatically.

Kaneki patiently hinted. "That one's pretty hard. I'll give you a hint. Mo…"

The girl paused to think about it but was distracted by the door opening and her mother stepping in accompanied by Yoshimura. Ryouko asked. "Are you ready, Hinami?"

"Mom!" The young girl cried joyously and rushed over to Mrs. Fueguchi. "Kaneki's been teaching me all kinds of words!"

The single mother rubbed her daughter's head and said. "Is that right? That's great. Thank you, Kaneki."

"Oh, no. It was fun for me, too." The half-breed replied dismissively.

Yoshimura had walked to the window and was peering out of it. He had noticed that clouds were starting to gather and darken. "Looks like it's about to it's about rain. Let me give you an umbrella."

"Oh, Thank you." The older Fueguchi accepted.

"Kaneki! Thanks, let's do it again." The girl said happily.

After some insistent ushering from her mother, the mother and daughter were able to start going towards home. The two of them had barely made it two blocks before it suddenly became a downpour. If it hadn't been for the umbrella that Yoshimura had given them, they would've been soaked to the bone.

"It's a shuu, Mom!" Hinami declared, overjoyed.

Ryouko blinked in shock. "What?"

"It means a sudden rain shower." The girl explained. "Kaneki taught me."

"He sounds very smart." The mother replied.

The thirteen-year-old beamed happily. "I'm gonna have him teach me more!"

The woman opened her mouth to speak but was silenced when she heard the splash of a footstep in a puddle. It made absolutely no sense but she was terrified. It was an instinctual feeling. She was being followed. Every cell in her body screamed that she was being followed. Ryouko wasn't quite in tune with her instinctual feelings quite like other ghouls. Particularly, those at Anteiku. She never could quite use them like the others, it made her terrible at hunting. It was why her husband had to provide food for her and her daughter. However, while she may not be able to use it for hunting or anything offensive but she able to use it as a danger sense. She can tell when she is in immediate danger. Right now, every fiber of her being was telling her to run.

Hinami felt it too. She asked tentatively. "Mom?"

"Let's run," Ryouko whispered.

They quickened their pace and the footsteps behind them quickened as well and there was the presence of another set of footsteps, joining the first. The mother brought them to a full run and the footsteps still matched them.

"Mom?!" The young ghoul cried worriedly. "Who's chasing us?!"

Mrs. Fueguchi spared a quick glance behind. The middle-aged investigator with the five o'clock shadow and the younger one with the glasses were the ones following them. Suddenly, Hinami froze. She smelled something. Something that made her entire spine shivered and her skin felt like it would crawl off her body and hide in a dark corner cowering. The scent was similar to that of a ghoul's but it was distorted. It didn't smell natural like it was man made. Steel was mixed in it. It just smelled wrong. That wasn't the only thing that made her sick. The ghoul part of the scent smelled like her father. She looked straight ahead towards the direction of the scent.

"The rain. It's so damp and unpleasant, isn't it? It blocks your vision and slows down your work. However, it also washes all kinds of things away, so it can be helpful at times. Dirt, stains, the cries of a vile pig." Kureo chuckled to himself, Amon standing behind him and to the right. Both of them were directly in front Ryouko and Hinami. The taller investigator had a dark suit on with a gray trench coat while the older one had on his all white suit and trench coat. They both had attaché cases and black umbrellas.

"Do you have a moment? Mrs. Ryouko Fueguchi." Kureo asked as he held up a plastic evidence bag with Asaki's mask in it. "We'd like to ask you about this."

There was thick palpable tension in the air. People walking by soon took notice of the Fueguchis trapped by a pair of instigators on either side of them. Amon whipped out his badges and yelled, warning. "We are ghoul investigators! It is not safe here! Please vacate the area immediately!"

With cries of alarm and fear, everyone who noticed and didn't notice ran for the hills and their homes. Ryouko looked at her daughter who clung to her mother shivering with fear. There was no exit. They may have been at a cross street but if they tried to run, the investigators would either shoot them with Quinque bullets or use whatever devilish weapon they had in those damn cases. No ghoul knew what was in them, just stories and theories. She couldn't fight her way out with Hinami. She literally could not fight to save her life. Maybe, she could fight to save someone else's life, no matter what happens to her own. It's a hard pill to swallow. She always imagined watching her daughter grow up and getting old as it happened. It was wishful thinking but it didn't hurt to hope. She had to hope that the could give her daughter the best chance to live. She turned and hugged her daughter, dropping the umbrella, her eyes closed to keep from tears spilling.

"Hinami." She said softly. Opening her eyes to reveal the glow of Kakugans. "Run."

Hinami's eyes widened in shock as she muttered. "Mom?"

A large Kagune erupted from Ryouko's back. It was shaped like butterfly wings with a set of fore wings and hind wings. Each wing was huge, spanning fifteen feet giving her a wing span of over thirty feet. They were both yellow and flesh like with a circular spot in the fore wings that had no flesh but red glowing muscle. The four investigators tensed; the kibble who had them dropped their umbrellas. Amon's face became grin while Kureo looked insane, the whites of his eyes visible all around the iris. The other two investigators drew their pistols. The younger one hesitated but the older took aim. The ghoul mother lashed out with one of her wings at his arm, tearing his suit and carving a deep gash into the outside of his forearm. He cried out in pain, dropping his gun to press his hand against the injury, in an attempt to slow the blood that was gushing out.

His younger partner called out. "Nakajima!"

Before he could come to the injured human's aid, Ryouko swung her wing in a wide circle and batted them off to the side. They flew into the wall and bounced off it, falling to the ground in a heap of dazed limbs. Hinami stumbled back, stunned in fear. "Mom?"

Ryouko turned to her daughter, her eyes carrying a deadly seriousness that the girl never saw before and it terrified her. The mother commanded. "Go!"

Hinami stared at her mother, tears welling in her eyes. She knew. She knew that if she ran now; she would never see her mom ever again. Ever. She wanted to stay, to help to do something. She didn't want to lose Ryouko. She didn't want to be left alone. But… She was so terrified and what could she do, she was just a kid. She would just die alongside with her mother. There was nothing she could do. Nothing she could do, here. If she could run back to Anteiku fast enough, she could bring back help. Irimi, Koma maybe even Touka. Somebody. She could bring them back and save her mom. She turned and ran through the opening created for her, tears flying from her eyes.

* * *

"I'm all done, Mr. Yoshimura," Kaneki said as he prepared to leave for the day.

"Good job today, Kaneki." Yoshimura complimented. "Touka and Marcus will be back tomorrow. So things will be a little be easier for you."

Kaneki nodded uncomfortably and left. It would be great for him to have the extreme help again. However, he didn't look forward to hearing the nagging from Touka again. That's less than fun. At least Marcus will have his back and hold the beast at bay. As he was walking home, he heard the conversations of some of the people that was passing by. He froze when he heard one that mentioned somebody who had never seen a ghoul before. They continued on about how they looked completely human but it became kind of sick after it turned. The half-breed didn't like the way that sounded. He moved to keep walking but his foot kicked something. He looked down and there was a really waterlogged notebook covered in stickers of cartoon-like bears. He picked it up to get a closer look. There was writing on the front. It read, "Hinami".

It only took a second to put the pieces together. Without another moment's hesitation, he took off running, sticking the notebook inside the gray coat he was wearing over his work clothes. He could vaguely remember the way to the Fueguchis' apartment. He pulled out his phone and attempted to contact Yoshimura. No answer. He couldn't call Marcus, he would still be at home in the first ward and there would be no way he could get there in time. He may be fast but he wasn't Quicksilver fast. If Kaneki was right, what could he do to stop it? From what Marcus had been telling him, investigators are terrifyingly strong and the half-breed wasn't. Then again, it would be wrong just to let them fight alone when he knew what was going on. He may not have been strong but he refused to stand there and do nothing. He had been told that investigators worked in pairs. Hinami couldn't fight so Mrs. Fueguchi was fighting them both. If he got there in time he could give them a surviving chance. Suddenly, Hinami appeared out of nowhere, her face red and blotchy from tears, and slammed into him full tilt.

Kaneki held her and exclaimed, relieved. "Hinami! Thank god!"

She looked up at him with a fearful and hopeful expression. She choked out past the sobs. "M… my mom… she ne-needs… help. She-"

She pressed her face against his chest and continued sobbing. The student gritted his teeth and said. "Let's go."

Amon swung his massive Quinque, Ryouko tried to bring her Kagune in front of her but was too slow. She took the strike solidly to her chest and was sent flying. She flapped her wing like Koukaku desperately, trying to stabilize her landing like her husband had taught her. She landed shakily but on her feet. Several meters away from the investigators. She held her ground for a few seconds but then dropped to her knees, exhaustion setting. Her clothes were in tatters, barely keeping her decent. Her body bruised and battered with cuts and tears brought on by massive blunt force. Her right arm was broken, full fracture, making her arm bend at an awkward angle. Most of her ribs were fragmented beyond good and proper healing. Her Kagune was withered and useless. She couldn't fight anymore. The other two investigators were up again. She was impossibly outnumbered. No chance to live at this point but she knew that it would come from the get go.

"Not much of a fighter. Though, she does know how to handle her Kagune. A mother sacrificing her own life to save her child's. It makes my skin crawl watching you ghouls pretend to be human." Kureo commented, his voice turning harsh and sickened. He then stepped forward saying. "That's enough, Amon. I'll take the final blow… with this."

A sinister, mischievous smirk crawled across his face as he made a show of opening the case. He lifted the arm holding the case straight out to the side, pressing the button that opened the case. It fell, hit the ground and Asaki's Kagune unfolded from within it. It was held by a handle just like his last Quinque. The Rinkaku was far paler than when it was used by Mr. Fueguchi and the red muscle between each segment and in the eyes were a darker, crueler crimson almost maroon. Now that it wasn't covered, Ryouko could smell what Hinami did and it was just as disturbing for her as it was for her daughter. Everything about it was wrong and unnatural.

"W…w…w-why? W-what have you done?" She stammered in horror, tears streaming from her eyes openly. "N-not my husband!"

A mad grin befitting Hannibal Lector, Jack the Ripper and every other murderous psychopath ever to be thought of, spread itself across his face accompanied by an insane giggle of equal proportions. "Yes. Yes. That's it! Sorrow, despair, hate! That exact expression! More! I want to see more!"

It was then Kaneki and Hinami arrived. They were lucky enough that in the fighting, Ryouko's and the investigators' positions had switched. So that when the newcomers had arrived following the same path the Fueguchis' had taken, they were behind the investigators and in front of the mother. The half-breed noticed the four investigators, grabbed Hinami, and ducked into an alley, telling the daughter to hide. All the chance they had at getting Ryouko out alive vanished. Four investigators are different from two. He couldn't deal with one person in a fight let alone two. Then there was Mrs. Fueguchi's physical condition. She couldn't run away. If they tried, they wouldn't get farther than a block, if that. Even if they got away, trying to heal all her injuries would be impossible. She could end up permanently crippled, assuming there wasn't internal bleeding which would kill her before they got to Anteiku. No matter what, Ryouko is dead.

"So foolish." Kureo chuckled. "If you had come quietly with us, you wouldn't have had to die on the streets. I would've taken my time dissecting you. But… I can be merciful. Do you have any last words?"

"Mom!" Hinami cried out and attempted to run to her mother but was stopped as Kaneki grabbed onto her, covering her mouth to stifle her cry.

"No, Hinami." He quietly warned.

Kureo was stalking closer to Ryouko, arm tensing, readying to strike. Kaneki tried to think of something he could do to stop this but kept drawing up blanks in his panic. The most he could do was cover Hinami's eyes so that she didn't see the killing blow. Then he saw Ryouko looking at him first with a confused look, then disdainful one, finally settling on grateful.

Ryouko's face turned peaceful. "Hinami, I-"

"Oops."

Kureo claimed her head.

' _I was about to scream._ ' Kaneki would later relay to the others. ' _The only thing I could do was keep her from seeing it._ '

* * *

 _ **12, 236 words**_

 _ **Ladies and gentleman, we have a new record!**_

 _ **I'm am so sorry for the massive delay getting this one out. I had an inspirational crisis brought on by a really bad day accompanied by a technical malfunction that deleted a week of work totaling up to 3000 plus words. By the time I had recovered school picked back up. So yeah, I had some issues there for a while but now I'm back and in business.**_

 _ **So as usual, please follow and review.**_

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **Twain Apprentice: Wow, you've got a lot of questions. I'll answer what I can without spoiling anything. Though I will be following the manga much closer than the anime. Especially after the Aogiri arc.**_

 _ **alert can't say**_

 _ **will be getting a pretty major rework, though the basics will be there.**_

 _ **. Absolutely. I love them so much. They had a lot of promise that was unfulfilled.**_

 _ **honestly forgot about him. Haven't thought about though it will be quite entertaining.**_

 _ **quite sure what you mean. Please explain.**_

 _ **Keep asking me questions. I like it. Helps me think about later down the line.**_

 _ **StormAPTX-626: Love your reviews, always gives a good laugh.**_

 _ **Additional note: In three days, the original story is coming off. I'll post a warning on it so that those who are following it and not this one can get a heads up.**_

 _ **Next time on the Shivering grasp of a promise:**_

" _ **Mrs. Fueguchi was killed by ghoul investigator."**_

" _ **I'll avenge Ryouko for you."**_

 ** _"Get away from her, you bitch."_**

" _ **I'm tired of being helpless."**_

 _ **"Terrorizing one child not enough for you, dad?"**_

"… _ **Anything to keep him away from my daughter."**_

" _ **This world was wrong and it was his job to change it."**_

" _ **Aren't we allowed to live?**_ _ **"**_

" _ **Even I wish we could live like you guys!"**_

" _ **I'll make you understand."**_

" _ **So, I'm letting him out to play and we're coming after YOU."**_

 _ **Chapter Ten: A Demon's Fate**_


	10. A Demon's Fate

"Damn it." Touka sighed. "I totally missed the mark."

"After all that study, too," Marcus commented, his unimpeded hand tucked into his pocket in a casual manner as he walked. "You're so gonna fail Classic lit.."

"Tell me about it. Hey, are we closed today?" She pointed to the sign on Anteiku's front door. The shop closing off schedule is a rarity.

She walking to work from school and stumbled across Marcus on the way, so they were walking together. At least Yoriko hadn't been there, she would make fun of Touka till they grew old. The Kakuja had on plain dark clothes. Jeans, shirts and a simple dark jacket. The purple head had on her school uniform.

"Maybe they got roaches." He asked teasingly.

She shivered. "Hope not. We found one in one of our coffee jars once. Had to dump it all out to be sure. We were closed for over a week to restock and wages were cut to offset the cost. It sucked."

"Sure sounds like it. Fingers crossed." He stepped forward, opened the door, and held it for her. "Ladies first."

She sent him a playful glare, not happy with his respectful gesture but more than used to it by this point. He just grinned his annoyingly cute, smug grin. Subsiding she stepped into the shop, greeting. "Afternoon."

Yoshimura stood behind the counter, waiting for the two of them. He didn't want to tell them what had happened, especially Touka. She was particularly close to them.

"So you are here. The sign's on the wrong side." Touka said. Marcus stepped in behind her closing the door. "Anyway, you won't believe how badly I missed the mark on my exams."

"Touka." Yoshimura interrupted gently but gravely. "Will you come upstairs with me? You too, Marcus."

"Sure…" She replied.

' **Marcus.** ' Xeno warned quietly. If he was corporeal his muscles would be tensing.

"I know." The Kakuja whispered to himself. "Something's wrong"

They were lead upstairs to the meeting room. There the entire Anteiku team were waiting. Irimi and Koma were sitting side by side on the couch opposite to the door. She was wearing a dark dress and jacket with a white scarf. He had black slacks with a white dress shirt, a bow tie, and suspenders. Yomo was wearing his usual dark long coat and was leaning against the adjacent wall his arms crossed. Kaneki was sitting on the couch in front of the door facing away. He was wearing his jeans and a blue jacket; his eyepatch sat on the coffee table which sat several still full coffee cups. All eyes were on the newcomers, sans the half-breed's, he was looking down in shame.

"Yomo, too," Touka noted quietly. She didn't like where this was going. She asked. "What happened?"

Yoshimura l et out an almost tired sigh. "Mrs. Fueguchi was killed by ghoul investigators. She was trying to protect Hinami."

The purple haired girl paused in shock then ground her teeth together in raw rage and slammed the side of her fist against the wall. She waited to calm down before asking. "What about Hinami?"

"She sleeping in the back." The old ghoul answered.

The high school girl let out a breath of relief before asking a more important question. "Did they see her face?"

"Unfortunately, it couldn't be helped." He replied gravely.

"Aw, man." She fell to her haunches and bowed her head in dismay. "How could this happen?

Marcus watched her worriedly for a second before turning to the manager with a cold and serious expression. "What are we going to do, sir?"

"We'll be keeping Hinami here at Anteiku for a while." The old man replied sadly. "And when the time is right, I'm thinking about relocating her to the twenty-fourth ward."

With that, Touka shot up and stared at Yoshimura like he was an idiot. "You're kidding, right?! She can't survive on her in that hell hole!"

The Brit agreed, "She's right. Take it from me who lived down there for a couple years. She'll be dead in a month. We need to come up with something else."

"Or maybe," the teenage girl interjected mockingly. "We need to get off our collective asses and go kill the doves! Every last one of them before they find out where Hinami is. We've got Yomo here, and Marcus survived the twenty-fourth and fourth wards, too. He has to be somewhat of a certified badass. If we all work together."

Yomo cut in harshly. "No. If a dove dies in the twentieth ward. They'll consider the area to have hostile ghouls. If that happens, the nest will keep sending more and more new doves until they hunt us all down. You have to understand, Touka. They're willing to march out an entire ward office when necessary."

"But…" She attempted to argue.

"Touka." The Manager said quietly, trying to calm her down. "Yomo is right. We can't lay a hand on them. It's the best choice for everyone's safety."

"Best?" She snarled. "One of our own was killed and we're sitting with our heads up our asses! That's your idea of what's best? Hinami lost her father and mother to the doves. It'll be tragic if we don't retaliate!"

"It's not tragic that we can't retaliate." The oldest ghoul present countered. "What's truly tragic is, being consumed with vengeance and not being able to live your life."

Grinding her teeth she stepped forward with her fists clenched, ready to start swinging. "What're you trying to say?"

Yoshimura didn't give any form of verbal response, just sent her a withering glare, commanding her to drop it. She widened her eyes, stunned and took a step back. She looked towards Marcus to have her back, but he was telling her to drop it also. Outrage bubbled up inside threatening to boil over but she noticed that he wasn't telling her to shut up out of spite but out of worry. She saw that silent plea in his eyes. He was saying that this fight was not worth it. She was still angry and she wanted to release in blissful violence but now wasn't the time. She turned and stormed out of the room. She didn't like backing down but she didn't really have a choice. The manager sighed sadly. Kaneki looked up for the first time in this conversation, with an expression of worry.

Yoshimura smiled softly. "Don't worry about it. She's also dealing with a lot of things. Koma and Irimi, Yomo will send out some images he had taken. I want to remind you not to lay a hand on them and please tell our customers to stay alert."

"Okay." They said.

"Can I get a look, too?" Marcus asked. "I might be able to get names to go with them and know when they move."

Yomo nodded and drew out his phone, pulling up the pictures. He held it out for the foreign-born ghoul, who took a step closer for a better look.

Marcus let out an involuntary snarl as Xeno got very, very pissed off at the sight of Kureo and Amon. "That bastard."

Kaneki looked at him shocked. "You know them?"

"The tall guy, Amon. Don't know him personally." The Kakuja corrected barely keeping his voice from becoming a full on growl. "But the other guy. His name is Kureo Mado and he is a son of a bitch that's fully deserving of the name."

Irimi blinked. "Mado? As in your mom?"

The Brit nodded. "He's her father and he has something of a vendetta against me. Thinks I'm the closest thing to Satan spawn and I'm seducing his daughter."

"That's weird." The half-breed commented.

"The power of racial prejudice," Yomo added on.

The adopted ghoul crossed arms and sighed. "That's what makes him dangerous. He has a hate for ghouls, unlike anything I've seen. He's KKK level, easily. As an investigator, his methods are near infallible and he knows his way around a Quinque. Hell, he designs them. But that's not the only thing."

"What is it?" Yoshimura asked.

"He torments ghouls, tortures them. Physically and psychologically. His hatred for us bleeds out every time he fights. Trust me when I say every ghoul in the ward needs to stop hunting activities and live off the packages for a while. At least, until we can get him out."

The manager nodded. "I'll let everyone know. Alright, get to work. Let's make sure everyone's safe."

Marcus turned to leave but was stopped when the old man asked. "What do you plan to do?"

"Talk with Touka. Make sure she doesn't do something stupid." The green eyed ghoul answered and left.

Everyone followed suit sans Kaneki. He sat there, feeling sorry for himself. He always felt he was pretty weak. He had very little muscle or combat skill to his name. He never really had any issue with it but today, he felt pathetic. His weakness had gotten someone killed. Someone really, really important. If he hasn't been so weak, Ryouko wouldn't be dead and Hinami wouldn't be an orphan. He should've known better. He wouldn't lay long in the ghoul world without learning how to fight. He should've had Marcus or Touka teach him how. If he had learned, he could've saved her. He failed her. He failed her daughter. Touka. Anteiku. Everyone. He simply just failed.

"It's nobody's fault." Kaneki looked up to see that Yoshimura was the spoke, standing over the half-breed's shoulders. "Even we ghouls are hesitant to confront investigators. One saving grace is that Hinami is safe, just as Mrs. Fueguchi wished. If only I had noticed your call. I'm sorry."

The half-breed just sighed sadly, "If it was Touka and not me that showed up. Maybe Mrs. Fueguchi would still be alive."

Touka was outside of Anteiku, in the alley that was behind it. She sat against the wall, her legs curled up to her chest, arms around them. She had her face hidden by her arms, hiding her tears. The coffee shop rear entrance located in the kitchen opened and Marcus stepped out. He noticed where she was sitting and promptly sat down next to her. He pulled off his fake cast and set it down. He flexed his arm, which was sore from being in the fake cast.

"How is it that a fake cast is more irritating than a real one?" Marcus asked jokingly. When she didn't answer, he sighed. "Sorry for not having your back. We weren't gonna win that one. No matter how much we dug in."

"I know that!" She snapped as she lifted her head to send a spiteful glare at him. It couldn't hold and the expression faded from her face, her head slumped back down to her arms. "It's just… I don't know what to do. I can't decide if I'm pissed off or depressed."

The Brit nodded. "Sounds like grief."

"Well, it sucks ass." She quipped, harshly.

"That it does."

Another pregnant silence filled the alley before Touka mumbled. "You're gonna tell me not to go after them, aren't you?"

"Yes. Please. don't do it." He pleaded. "You're angry. So am I. Vengeance won't fix anything. Even if you're able to kill all of them, the wrath you'll be bringing down on all of us. Will kill us. Will kill Hinami."

Her shoulders stiffened at that. Feeling satisfied that his message was getting through, he continued. "Think of Hinami and think of Ryouko. You would just be undoing what she did. Promise me that you won't go after them."

She didn't answer.

"Promise me, Touka." The Kakuja repeated, more sternly.

"Fine. I promise." She relented sourly.

"Thank you." Marcus smiled warmly and rubbed one of her shoulders, comfortingly. "I'll be inside. Come in when you want to talk."

Touka nodded and Marcus patted her shoulder once and left, putting his cast back on. She just sat there, thinking. She wanted vengeance and wanted it badly. It was a gut reaction that made her want to stop thinking and just act on it. Though she knew that do long such a thing was stupid and reckless. Like Marcus and everyone else was saying, it would only get a bunch of people killed. At the same time, though, any chance that Hinami had at a regular life was gone thanks to those investigator bastards. The school girl wanted to fix that for her, to make things better. That didn't matter if she was putting the young ghoul in the way of danger. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"What should I do?" She whispered to herself.

Her phoned pinged and she pulled out her phone. Yomo had sent the images of the investigators with Yoshimura's orders on laying low for a while. As she glared at the images of Ryouko's murderers, it came to her as what she should do.

"Sorry, Marcus. But I have to do this."

'I'll avenge Ryouko for you, Hinami.'

* * *

"Number seven twenty-three's daughter," Kureo said to the other three investigators. "No eyewitness reports of number seven hundred and forty-five yet."

"Without any leads, I think the smart move is to follow up on our other suspects simultaneously with our search for number seven four five," Amon suggested.

The elder Mado nodded turning to the twentieth ward investigators. "I agree. Let's go with Amon's plan. She's a midge after all. She can't go too far. I am surprised we were able to exterminate one so quickly. We're grateful for your assistance. I think headquarters will reward you two with a special bonus."

"Bonus…" The wiry guy muttered, happily. His partner, Nakajima, just looked pensive.

"Let's bask in the glory of this small victory for a little while." Kureo offered.

They finished their meeting in the branch office and went their separate ways. Amon made a quick stop to drop off his Quinque in storage before walking out the door of the twentieth ward office. Midway to his car, he thought about eating dinner before heading home. That's not particularly difficult as an investigator. The fast food industry knows where the money is at. The blocks surrounding all the ward offices are full of fast food restaurants, ramen shops, and various other food service shops. It's advantageous for investigators because it's easy to pick up lunch or dinner without getting too far from their jobs. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. In the darkness of the night, the dark headed investigator could see all the neon signs announcing the names and locations for the various restaurant. Especially the tall golden arches of McDonald's. He briefly thought about going there before someone called out to him

"Hey, Amon!" Shouted out the wiry investigator as he strolled out of the branch office with his partner at his side. "Are you grabbing a bite to eat?"

"I am," Amon replied.

"We know a good ramen shop that's pretty close to here. Wanna join us?" The younger investigator asked.

"Uh, sure. Kusaba."

Amon followed them to a small hole-in-the-wall ramen shop that is located directly across the street. They stepped in and sat down at the counter taking up most of the seats.

"What'll it be, boys?" Asked the elderly gentleman running the shop, jovially.

"Shrimp tempura set and a chicken onigiri," Nakajima said calmly.

Kusaba teased. "Again?"

"Shut up." The middle-aged investigator replied with the patient annoyance of someone who expects to say it many times in the future.

Amon just ordered. "Kakiage. Large."

The cook started working on their ordered and after a moment the youngest of the three investigators said. "I can't believe you dug up a grave to find some evidence. I honestly didn't think you were the type to get down and dirty."

The cook finished cooking and set down their meals in front of them. "Here you go."

The tallest of them picked up his chopsticks; they were the kind that was wood and needed to be separated from each other and broke them apart. He stated before he started eating. "Can't achieve your goals if you're too scrupulous."

The other two started eating, and the wiry man, ever so curious, asked. "So, what do they teach you at the academy?"

"Laws and facts relating to ghouls. The rest of the time I was working out." Amon replied taking a bite of Kakiage. "I can't tell you much. I'm not permitted to."

Kusaba asked another question. "There are female students, too, right?"

Nakajima winced as the younger guy put his foot in his mouth. He slapped the other guy's shoulder and whispered. "Kusaba. Cut it out."

Amon stilled for a second as he thought of brown hair and dark eyes. "There were a few. They were intelligent and determined."

"Really? Do you still keep in touch with them?" The younger man asked.

"No." Was the grave reply. "Most of them died in the line of duty."

"They died? I-I'm so sorry. I…" The inexperienced investigator stammered.

"It's not that uncommon. The more single-minded you are, the more likely you are to die." The Quinque qualified investigator finished his bowl and set the chopsticks on top of it. He stood up and left, leaving a piece of advice. "Please be careful. Especially in these upcoming weeks."

Soon after Amon left, Kusaba and Nakajima finished their food and headed home themselves.

On the way, Nakajima grumbled out loud. "The more single-minded you are, the more likely you agree to die? Maybe we shouldn't work so hard."

Kusaba laughed. "Are you crazy? There's a ton we have to do. Although not as much as the other wards. The only big case we've had recently is the Binge Eater case. What's going on with that case right now, by the way?"

"Right now it's about the gourmet more than the Binge Eater." The older gentleman replied.

The wiry man sighed. "I wish the main office would take it off our hands. They'd solve it so quick."

The investigator with the five o'clock shadow just shrugged. "Our ward director's probably keeping the case for himself cuz he doesn't want somebody else getting credit for it."

"Amon doesn't seem like he's interested in things like that. He's driven more by a sense of justice. It's incredible." The younger investigator said admirably.

The more experienced investigator shook his head and patted his partner's shoulder. "Comparing yourself to the guys from the main office gets ya nowhere."

"It's not that." The glasses' wearing guy mumbled. Then his voice grew steadier, stronger, hopeful. "All I wanted was a cushy desk job. But after watching him work he inspired me…"

A black blur flashed in front of Kusaba and he stopped. He mumbled out the last words of his sentence, a line of blood formed across his face. The crimson liquid looking black in the low lighting of the side street. It ran diagonally down his forehead, nose, and cheekbone. The top part of his face and head marked by the line simply slid off. Exposing his bisected brain in a splash of blood and his corpse fell to the ground. Nakajima didn't even notice anything that happened until the body fell. He did see a figure facing away from him. It was crouching two feet away from the Kusaba's corpse, before standing up. They wore a long dark coat going down to their calves and it had a hood pulled over it's. The person either wore shorts or something similar in length as the rest of their leg was exposed, showing tan skin. The figure turned revealing that it was wearing a cartoonish rabbit mask. Long bubblegum pink hair spilled out from the hood and mask.

The unknown combatant charged forward, bringing their hand back, fingers straight out in a dagger-like shape. Nakajima froze in shock and fear. "Shit!"

Just as rabbit lunged, Amon dove in, seemingly out of nowhere and tackled the endangered investigator out of the way. He had seen Rabbit on the rooftops following the other two investigators. The newcomer broke his fall by going into a roll and smoothly coming up to his feet while the shorter human fell into a clumsy heap. The more heavily built investigator held out his arms in a warding gesture. "Stay back, Nakajima!"

With an agility belonging to large African felines, Rabbit turned and sped forth. It leaped into the air and swung a leg in a flying roundhouse kick. Amon raised his arms in a block and instantly regretted. The kick struck with inhumane force. Pain erupted in his forearms. His feet shifted back an inch. The enemy pushed off him with her leg and threw another airborne roundhouse kick. This one made it home, striking him on the side of his head and was sent flying. He tumbled on the ground, rolling. He adjusted his body and brought himself to his feet lithely. He slid back until he slammed into the adjacent wall of the side street. Pain registered in several points on his body, especially in his back. He felt something warm trickle down the side of his face.

As Amon steadied himself against the wall behind him, he had no doubt that his opponent was a ghoul. The insane speed and agility, the battering ram strikes. Of course, to further get the point across the ghoul's Kagune released. It was an Ukaku type that was on the left side, stretching out an extra foot past her arm length. There was a stub of a wing on the other side that was barely the size of a dinner plate. Rabbit charged again and the human felt insanely stupid for leaving his Quinque behind at the office. Kureo always chastised him for being so careless with his only defense against ghouls but he always brushed it off. Now it was here to bite him in the ass.

Kureo's newest Quinque shot past Amon's shoulder at Rabbit. The red flesh glowed a dark crimson in the night. The ghoul saw the attack coming and tried to lean out of the way. Instead of a precision shot that would've claimed her head like Ryouko, it glanced off the side of the mask cutting a deep furrow where their cheek is. The blow was heavy, knocking her head back and her feet were thrown out from under her when they kept going. It fell and tumbled forward. Their mask was jostled by the blow and the Quinque-less investigator saw smooth feminine features and a few strands of purple hair.

"Amon." Kureo laughed as his walked down the alley on Amon's side. His uncovered Quinque in his right hand and a Quinque case in the other. "What were you thinking? Forgetting your Quinque? Now, look at you. Your handsome features are all messed up. How could you let a low-level ghoul get the jump on you? I admire your dedication but you mustn't lose your composure, Amon. It's a good thing that I was headed this way to return it to you."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mado. Won't happen again." Amon shuffled over to his partner's side.

"Don't be sorry. We all mistakes." The older man chided grandfatherly. He held out the other Quinque case to the taller investigator. "The best we can do is fix them and never make them again."

Amon took his Quinque case and opened it, releasing his club like Quinque. "Understood, sir."

Touka adjusted her rabbit mask before standing up. Everything was going so well till the old bastard showed up and screwed the pooch. Her chances at revenge for Ryouko plummeted. She should've put more thought into this before going out. She left immediately after she got that text Yomo sent. She stopped by her apartment to pick up a change of clothes, and this mask. She then literally sat outside the CCG office until they walked out and followed them. She acted without thinking, just going off the storm of emotions that was swirling inside. After Marcus and the others told her not to. Now, she was screwed. At this point, it was just survival and she was going to have to fight her way out. She could see all the I told so's in the future. Assuming she survived.

Kureo lashed out with his newest Quinque towards Touka. It wiggled and writhed wildly as it flew forward, slamming into the ground, and carving gashes into the concrete. Touka dove forward and to the side avoiding the blow and charged the two investigators. Amon jumped forward as he raised his Quinque overhead and brought it down upon the rabbit in an earth shattering blow. Without letting go of her momentum she dropped into a baseball player's slide, going right underneath the taller investigator as his club struck the ground cracking the pavement. She twisted to the side, getting to her feet and sped towards the investigator's exposed back. Then he suddenly dropped to the ground and the centipede-like Quinque batted the ghoul to the side like a student flicking a pencil shaving off their desk.

She tumbled a few times letting out grunts of pain, before getting up again and running towards Kureo. Her Kagune formed and crystallized firing a burst at the older investigator. In a blink and you'll miss it move, the older investigator brought his Quinque back to him, folding it up in a ten-foot diameter shield in front of him. Touka's Ukaku spikes shattered harmlessly against it and dissolved before the shards hit the ground. Amon came in at Touka's side like a freight train, shoulder bashing her to the ground. Standing over her, he raised his Quinque, weighted end down, and attempted to crush her skull. She placed her hands on the ground on either side of her head, kicked up her legs and slammed a foot into the side of the human's face. The Same one she kicked earlier. Unlike the last time, this blow didn't have the same strength or speed, but it did aggravate the injury some more. He was jerked to the side by the blow and the club landed an inch from her head.

Amon's eyes swam from the blow as he stumbled, dizziness. If he hadn't been holding onto his Quinque he would've fallen. He could feel the warm blood that dripped down his face and eye, as well as the swelling that was starting to form. Leaping off the ground to her feet, she turned to throw a punch but the dark-haired investigator swung his Quinque in a wide wild strike. More meant to discourage than to actually hurt. Thoroughly discouraged, she jumped away when Kureo discouraged her some when he attacked with his anti-ghoul weapon, aiming for her head. She back flipped, the demented weapon clipping off a few strands of the pink hair.

Kureo brought his Quinque back to his side and stepped up beside Amon. "Are you alright, Amon?"

"I'm fine, sir," Amon replied, covering the cut with his hand to stymy the blood and covering his eye in the process. "I'm just dizzy from the blow. I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Kick back for a few minutes. Recover. I'll take of our little rabbit." The older investigator suggested, slurring the r into a w.

"Yes, sir." The younger human stated, and dropped to one knee with a hand on his Quinque to steady him.

The more experienced investigator strolled lazily forward, twirling his Quinque vertically at his side like a ribbon dancer. He said in a partially approving tone. "You're not half bad, rabbit. Haven't seen anybody dodge this during the three months I've been using it. Very well done. Actually, you remind me of the ghoul I got this from. He was quite strong, too. Though you're not quite like him, but you're definitely not like his breeding partner. She was quite pathetic. Dying miserably without much of a fight. It was rather hilarious." He ended with a maniacal laugh.

"Bastard." Touka snarled as she straightened her mask again. The old man's blow screwed up the straps that held it to her head.

She charged him and started swinging wildly, enraged; throwing punches and kicks. The older investigator dodged nimbly and swiftly, stating calmly. "Amon, let's review what you learned at the academy. Ukaku ghouls like this one are distinguished by their quick and light attacks. Relying heavily on speed."

Rabbit did her signature airborne roundhouse kick, and the old man dodged that no less lithely than before, continuing his summary of Ukaku types. "They typically lack endurance. As the battle draws out, their combat capabilities drop dramatically. Ain't that right, rabbit?"

She yelled out fiercely. "Shut up!" Bringing her arm back for another dagger-like strike.

Kureo calmly hopped to the side, facing her still, and Amon appeared where the old man stood, swinging his Quinque in a wide under swing that caught her in the chest and chin. As she was sent flying, she picked up a strong sympathy for golf balls. Several meters later she reached out to the ground and grabbed onto it, fingers carving a furrow into the ground. Her legs swung up as the first law of motion kicked in and she went ass over tea kettle before coming down to earth. She looked up to see Kureo's Quinque lunging for her with the intent to pierce her cracked ribs and come out the other side. She leaned to the side hoping to avoid it but it struck her across her arm, cutting deep into the deltoid muscles. She spun from the blow, making one full turn before landing flat on her stomach.

Kureo looked at the suddenly standing investigator in surprise and asked with mild amusement. "Up and moving already? You're gonna hurt yourself."

"I'll be fine, sir," Amon said, wobbling slightly.

"If you say so." The older man shrugged but his attention was drawn as Touka got her legs under her and sat up. His grin widened as he asked. "Mind if I ask a question, Amon?"

"No, sir."

"I have this sense of déjà vu. Where is it coming from?" He scratched his chin in thought.

The taller investigator replied straight-faced. He didn't particularly like his partner's antics but he tolerated them. "I don't know, sir."

The more experienced investigator pretended to think for a minute before snapping his fingers in a faked epiphany. "I know! It's because this is just like when we fought that female ghoul the other day. She stood against us to save her precious daughter. She gave it her all but in the end, died on her knees. Just like you will."

Touka's breath hitched as she heard that. She was going to die, here. She could tell that. That was the plan from the get-go. Kill all the investigators that saw Hinami and killed Ryouko. Then go down in a blaze of glory. Hinami would be safe from the guillotine of the CCG and the others at Anteiku would be safe from any repercussions. After all, any investigator planning vengeance would be satisfied with her death. There would no reason to send investigators into the twentieth ward. There would've been no evidence that she even operated there. She never wore this mask before now, even though Uta made it for her. It was perfect. Now, she was going to die just like Ryouko and it was going to do more harm than it would do good.

"Would you like to take this one?" Kureo politely gestured to Amon.

The younger investigator nodded and stepped forward. "Any last words?"

"Fuck off." Touka spat.

"Fine, then."

Amon took a long leap, closing the distance before she could retaliate, and brought his club of a Quinque down on her head. Her eyes were open, ready to meet her death face to face. So she saw the shadow that grew on the ground just before her as a figure descended from the sky and landed on the Quinque, forcing it down a few seconds early. It passed her head by less than an inch, taking part of the left ear on her mask. The anti-ghoul weapon collided into the ground throwing up a dust cloud. As it dissipated, everyone could the person who saved her life either by accident or purpose.

Touka barely recognized him. He was a few inches shy of six feet with a well-sculpted physique from years of life or death battles. Black hair that was slicked back. He had on a mask that covered his face from the cheekbones down. It was the mouth area of a skull in design but it wasn't human. Too angular. It covered his nose to create the illusion that he didn't have one and the jaw went back behind his ear. The teeth were the glaringly obvious difference. They were pointed and long especially the canines. They were also a metallic silver. He only had on tight, rock star leather pants. Nothing else not even shoes She only knew who it was because of the decade-old collection of battle scars that adorned Marcus' body. He had one foot at the end of the Quinque; the other close to Amon's hand raising his knee high enough for him to rest his elbow on it to help support him as he leaned over to look at the human dead in the eyes.

Marcus' kakugans were cold and emotionless and he said impassively, his voice lower than usual. "Get away from her, you bitch."

Without any warning, he jumped and planted both feet solidly into Amon with a front dropkick, flipping backward and landing on his feet in a crouch. Meanwhile, the taller investigator learned why dropkicks suck. They're good winning moves as the force behind them is more than enough to knock the wind out a person and can crack ribs if done hard enough. Put a ghoul behind one then imagine the damage. The human was tossed several feet as a few ribs cracked. He was lucky that Marcus was holding back to hide his alter ego. Otherwise, it would've been a dozen feet and many broken ribs. The dark haired human fell on his back and Kureo rushed to his side crouching to make sure the younger investigator was alive. Once he was sure that the temporarily incapacitated man one live to fight he stood and faced down the Kakuja.

Marcus stood, slowly and calmly, but his muscles had the same tautness as those of a lion as it readied to pounce. Touka stood also ready to voice her opinions on being saved like a damsel in distress. Then she felt the thick palpable tension in the air. She could swim in it if she tried hard enough. She looked at the Kakuja whose anger filled eyes were locked squarely upon Kureo's. His eyes were overflowing with maddening glee and recognition like he had been waiting for the Brit to show. She shifted her gaze back and forth between the two of them, trying to piece together what was with them. Then something Amon said came back to her memory when the old man first showed up. "Mr. Mado." _Holy family feud, batman._

Kureo grinned madly and laughed as he attacked. "How nice of you to join us!"

His Quinque shot forward like a snake lashing out with its fangs. Marcus didn't blink or flinch; he just moved with lightning speed. His hand reached out and redirected the centipede-like Quinque with a gentle push. It passed within inches of his head and shoulder, missing Touka by feet in the process. Kureo pulled it back, hopping to get the Kakuja on the back swing but he had already leaned out of the way. The Brit charged forth like a horse after it was released from the starting gate, closing the distance. Kureo brought the anti-ghoul weapon around in a wide side swung hoping to cleave him in half about the waist. The Kakuja wasn't having any of that. He jumped clearing the weapons attack arc with stunning ease. By the time he touched the ground he was in the older investigator's face.

Marcus landed with a wide balanced stance. He pulled his fists in close to his chest, then punched with both fists putting his entire upper body behind it. It collided into Kureo's chest with the force of freight train propelled by an ICBM. The old man was thrown back a dozen feet as air decided to completely evacuate his lungs. He landed on the ground, gasping for air. The body armor he was wearing was dented in. The Kakuja had held back once more. As much as he hated the old bastard, he was still Akira's father and the Brit loved her and would never hurt her. That and him trying to keep a lid on Xeno in front of Touka were the only reason the two investigators weren't painted all over this damn street. Especially after he pieced a few things together about the elder Mado's actions.

Both investigators were out of action for the moment but Amon was starting to get up. Marcus turned and ran for Touka. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. She protested vehemently. Then he jumped and he didn't hold anything back. To put this into context, the average vertical jump height for an NBA player is twenty-eight inches. The fittest and trained investigators can bring that up to about three feet Ghouls on average have ten to eleven-foot verticals, Touka's got twelve; thirteen if she tried really hard. Marcus has a sixteen-foot vertical jump if he gives it all and that's without the help of Xeno. With his help, he can clear thirty. In three bounds, he reached the top of a building and vanished behind the roof.

Kureo looked towards the roof, with a disappointed expression. "Just when I had the chance to rid my daughter of your influence."

Marcus hauled ass, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He made sure to not stay in a linear path, taking random turns even backtracking some. Doing everything he could to avoid being followed and or tracked. After several blocks, Touka had enough of the damsel in distress treatment. "I think we're far enough! Put me down or I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Marcus made one last leap to a roof before setting Touka down, gently. As soon as she was on her feet, she shoved him away from her with her good arm, screaming. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Saving your bloody arse from your own daftness!" He answered sharply, his accent letting loose. "What the fuck were you doing!?

She growled, tearing off her mask showing her angered expression. The pink wig went with it. "I was just fine on my own. I didn't need to be saved. As to what I was doing, that should be obvious!"

"If you mean getting yourself killed, yeah, it was quite obvious." He quipped, crossing his arms.

Her face became more enraged; her hands clenched and unclenched as she contemplated taking a swing at him. Though she had a feeling that she would end up on her ass. So she just replied, still angry. "No. I'm trying to make sure Hinami can live a normal life."

"A normal life?" The kakuja laughed scornfully. "No such thing with our kind, love."

"Then one without being under the CCG's hatchet," She corrected before commenting. "And 'love'?"

He ignored the comment and said. "We already discussed that it would be useless and you would end up raining down the CCG's wrath on Anteiku."

"Not if they don't have a reason." She countered glaring at him with defiance.

Marcus looked at her confused for a second. Then he found a line of logic and followed it till he learned exactly what she meant. Surprise, then horror flickered across his face then absolute outrage. He couldn't believe she had the audacity to think that let alone do it. Touka didn't see his reaction coming. She had expected harsh words meant to scold. Sympathetic words to talk her off the edge. Anything but physical violence. He slapped her. Any anger, outrage or defiance vanished from her face to be replaced with shock

"You're a bloody idiot!" Marcus yelled then he further surprised her by hugging her. His voice lowered and softened to a sadder tone. "I understand why you would think this, but why you would do it? You would've died. That's it. No memories, no dreams, nothing. You would leave Anteiku, Hinami. Me. And I don't want that. I don't want you to go."

Touka leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him, and whispered as she cried. "I'm sorry. Asshole, now I'm crying."

He snickered and gave her a little squeeze. She tried to squeeze him back but she forgot about her messed up arm. She hissed in pain and let go of him to grab at her injury. "Damn. It hurts."

"Here, take off your jacket. Let me look at it." He muttered.

Touka shrugged off her jacket till it was hanging off her arms leaving her shoulders bare. She was wearing a pinstripe t-shirt. The edge of her sleeve on her injured arm was torn revealing the wound. It was two-inch long gash that was cut just below the deltoid muscles at least three-quarters of an inch deep. It was also bleeding quite profusely.

"Missed your shoulder muscles by a few centimeters." Marcus turned her arm gently looking at the cut from a different angle. "An inch or two higher and you wouldn't be able to move your arm. How attached are you to that trench coat?"

"Not really. I picked it up from the closet in the meeting room a while back. Never returned has several coats in their for ghouls to use." Touka said.

The Kakuja then proceeded to tear off the bottom hem of her coat and use it to bandage her arm. "Let's get home and get some real bandages on that."

"Okay. But you are not throwing me over you shoulder again." She pointed out with a playful glare before putting on her mask and getting her coat over her shoulders.

He smirked before picking her up in a lover's carry. With one arm beneath the crook of her legs and the other behind her shoulders. Once again, she protested indignantly and he started jumping from roof to roof again headed home.

* * *

"Uh. You, the new boy." Said an elderly gentleman at a table with a cup of coffee.

Kaneki walked over to him and replied. "Yes, sir?"

The old man held up his coffee and asked. "Is this different from what I usually have? I think I usually have a darker roast."

"Oh, I'm sorry." The college student apologized as he bowed his head respectfully. "Let me get you another cup."

The elder man shook his head. "Oh, no. Next time will be fine."

The half-breed nodded. "Alright, sir."

Kaneki bowed his head respectfully again and left. He went over behind the counter and started looking for the dark roast. So that he knew where it was next time a customer ordered it. When his search didn't yield anything he headed to the back kitchen to continue his search. As he stepped into the kitchen, he stumbled across Touka organizing cans of coffee beans. He blinked in surprise as he didn't see her walk in. Marcus did walk in front, though. The half-breed just assumed that she had taken another day off. Of course, he didn't know that she was trying to hide from the manager. That was a talk she did not want to be a part of.

Touka looked at him blankly and asked. "What?"

"Uh, I used the wrong beans," Kaneki said nervously expecting to get yelled at. "Where do we keep the espresso beans?"

Instead of yelling at him like he expected, she sighed and said tiredly. She walked over to the shelf with the cans of coffee beans. "Don't let it happen again. Use the ones with the blue labels."

Touka reached to grab one of the cans she described but had stupidly forgotten to not use her injured arm. A thousand needles of pain lit up in her arm; the worst of it located around the patched up arm. She completely regretted not taking the ibuprofen that Akira offered after she had bandaged the teenager's arm. She tilted the can over to pick it up when the pain hit so that when she brought back her arm to hold it, the Coffee Can went with it. The can fell to the floor and the lid popped open spilling beans all around her. She dropped to her knees in a knee jerk reaction crying put in pain.

"Touka!" Kaneki cried out worriedly as he took a step forward to help her.

"Stay away!" Touka yelled stopping him. She hated this feeling of helplessness. "Leave me alone."

She stood up and ran past him brushing her wounded shoulder against his both accidentally and purposeful defiance. She headed out the door and into the alley. As he watched her, go he noticed a splotched of red staining the shoulder of his shirt. Exactly where she bumped him. It had the infamous scent of blood.

Yoshimura's footsteps sounded as he stepped from around the corner and nearby Kaneki. "So, she really did attack the doves."

"Touka attacked the investigators." The college student mumbled to himself then said out loud. "She needs to get looked at."

"No," Yoshimura stated coldly. When Kaneki looked at him in shock, the old man stated again. "I said. No."

The dark-haired-ghoul faced the old man fully and exclaimed. "What are talking about? She's bleeding!"

The elder ghoul explained coldly like he was pointing out a fact. "Attacking an investigator means she's prepared to suffer the consequences. It's not our concern whether she lives or dies."

The half-breed stared at the old man in horror as he contradicted what he said Anteiku was. The student stammered. "W-what? But… y-you said we help each other at Anteiku."

The manager paused frowning before asking. "So do you think those of us at Anteiku can stand up against several hundred, several thousand investigators on our own?"

Kaneki could see the army of trench coats and attaché cases marching down the street towards the coffee shop. Blood stained the windows. He turned his head aside as he let Yoshimura get his point across. He got it. The manager had to make decisions based on the bigger picture he had to have anger towards the Fueguchis' deaths. Which he did and despite his anger and rage, he couldn't just act out on it. It would put everyone in danger. He has to think about everyone and make decisions that keep them safe. Touka acting on her own endangers that. So now he has to decide how to deal with that. It's not easy and it makes him seem cold but he genuinely cares. He just doesn't have any choice.

"I understand you make your decisions for the greater good." Declared Kaneki. "But I don't know a thing about dealing with investigators or the laws of the ghoul world. So, I'm going to see it for myself before I decide what I'm going to do."

Kaneki turned and stepped over to the counter, opened it and fetched the first aid kit that they had before heading out the alley door. Yoshimura watched the student go with a smile on his face. He liked what he said. It was a good attitude and could get him quite far.

Kaneki found her sitting by door still holding her hurt arm. She looked up at him and snapped. "What?"

"I brought some…"

"I don't need it!" she interrupted.

"But you're bleeding!" He protested.

She scowled and looked away. "Stop scampering around, it's annoying. You're just a human."

The college student frowned sadly. "I have some ghoul in me, too."

"Acting like you think you're one of us." She looked up at him with a cavalier smile. "If you're so concerned about me, go and kill those stupid doves for me."

Kaneki froze in shock at the request and didn't answer. When she didn't get a reply, she scoffed and said expectantly. "Well? Maybe if you used Rize's kagune like you did with Nishiki. Can you do it? You can't, can you? A wuss like you wouldn't have the balls or the resolve. I can't depend on the manager or Yomo. I know that. Despite what Marcus says and does, it doesn't matter if a murderer like me dies. And I know some humans are friendly but, I won't stand for ghouls like Ryouko and Hinami to be unfairly killed. You don't know a damn thing. So, shut up."

"A murderer like me." Kaneki was aware that she knew she was in the wrong, yet she kept going. She kept going because it was what she felt was right.

"Like you said, I can't kill anybody." He said softly. "I don't think the existence of investigators is wrong and I don't think you're right either. But seeing Mrs. Fueguchi in her last moments that day, I strongly felt whether it's a human dying or a ghoul dying if it's somebody I know, I can't stand it. If you died, I'd be sad."

Touka's eyes widened in surprise and she stammered looking away in bashfulness. "W-whatever. What is it you're trying to say?"

"Teach me how to use the Kagune. I won't kill the investigators but…" Resentment grew in his voice as he declared. "I'm tired of being helpless."

She raised her eyebrows questioningly before letting out a chuckle. "What's gotten into you? You asswipe."

Later that day Kaneki received a text from Touka telling him to meet her out front of Anteiku. He's been waiting there for forty minutes, now. He felt like he's always waiting for her. He had on Khaki pants and a light gray jacket over his usual blue sweater. His eyepatch was present as always. He still had no control over his eye. The purple haired ghoul finally showed up with Marcus at her side. She wearing tan shin length pants, and a dark jacket with faux fur lining the neck with a cartoon rabbit head with its mouth sew into a smile and the words "Smile your grief away" printed on the back. That was over a white and navy blue striped shirt. The brit had dark jeans, a plain black shirt and a dark jacket that went down to his thighs. He had on his fake cast. His hair was back in it's poufy, bed head style.

"Yo," Touka said plainly. As though she wasn't late.

"Hi," Kaneki greeted. "You're la-"

She ignored him and walked to the door and unlocked it with the spare key she has. She ordered. "Come with me.

"Okay." The half-breed replied deadpan.

Marcus scoffed and shook his head. "Think nothing of her attitude. She's just having a temper tantrum because she's on suicide watch."

She glared at the Brit and grumbled. "I'm not having a temper tantrum."

"Which is exactly what someone says of they're having one." The Kakuja quipped.

"Suicide watch?" The college student queried.

"Oh, she planned to let herself get killed after she got rid of the investigators." The adopted Mado explained nonchalantly.

Touka growled warningly and stepped inside the shop, the boys followed. After hours the shop was dark and quiet. An oddity to Kaneki as he was only present when the shop was open and present. They walked towards the back room to go down the stairs to the basement. They reached the stairwell and Kaneki noticed the second floor was lit.

"Hey, should the light be on up there?" Kaneki asked pointing up the stairs.

"Hinami's scared of the dark," Touka said softly before heading down the stairs.

Kaneki followed quickly but Marcus waited a moment to look up the stairs. A burst of rage shot through him for a second before he calmed it down and following them. The half-breed got the chance to see the basement storage for the first time and his first opinion of it was "cold". He knew what was inside all the fridges. Those packages containing human flesh that Anteiku passed out to ghouls in need. They went past that to the trap door which surprised the half-breed. They had a second basement? The Brit took off the cast and set it to the side before climbing down the ladder after Touka and Kaneki. When they reached the bottom, the purple haired ghoul flipped a large electrical lever and a series of floodlights installed onto the load bearing supports and wall of the underground passage flicked on.

Marcus looked around in disbelief. "Wait. You guys had floodlights and Yomo made me fight with torches?"

Touka shrugged stepping a few meters away from the ladder. "He may be a quiet guy but he does have a flair for the dramatic. He's also a night owl."

"Where are we?" Kaneki asked stupefied as he followed her..

"An underground passage." She explained. "Ghouls made it a long time ago to hide from humans. This is technically part of the twenty-fourth ward, a maze of tunnels and halls that run throughout Tokyo's underground, though it's sectioned off. Don't go any farther than this lit up area. Go in there alone and you'd get lost and eaten."

"Okay." The nineteen year said hesitantly.

The Kakuja frowned in thought as he looked around. "I've wondered around the twenty-fourth ward a lot and I don't remember this place."

"Yoshimura and Yomo worked hard to keep ghouls away from this place. Physically and politically booting them out. As I said, technically it's in the twenty-fourth but technically it's not." Replied the female ghoul.

Marcus snorted in amusement. He thought he had been everywhere in the unofficial ward. First time for everything. He popped a squat by the ladder, one leg stretched out and the other leg rested it's foot on the outstretched leg's knee.

Touka shrugged off her jacket and tossed it to Marcus. "Since you're here, make yourself useful and hold that. I don't want it to get dirty."

"Hey, Touka?" Kaneki asked hesitantly. "What are we doing down here?

"I'm gonna teach you how to use your Kagune." She stated. The half-breed looked up in surprise. "Not really teach. You'd never get it if I explained it to you. I'll teach you the way I learned. Hope you've got all your affairs in order."

"Huh?"

Suddenly she shot forward and planted a fist in his stomach. It was like getting hit with a softball fired from one of those machines after it had aftermarket adjustments. Once, again he had issues with air as it left his body. He should stop messing with its little girl. Then he threw up. At least Touka brought back her hand before he spewed. Otherwise, his death would be guaranteed. She didn't give him a chance to recover and she threw a roundhouse kick to his chest. He was sent flying into the pillar that held the ladder and fell to the ground in a gasping heap. The entire front of his torso was let aflame in pain and agony. She walked over to the suffering half-breed with a look of complete disappointment.

Touka planted a foot on his shoulder and leaned down to remove his eyepatch. His eye was still in its normal form. "Not quite feeling the sense of danger, are you?"

Her foot shifted over to his hand and started pushing back his first finger. Kaneki froze and whispered terrified. "T-touka?"

Snap.

Touka pushed his finger all the way back till his fingernail was touching the back of his hand. There's no other way to put it except for it hurt. A lot. Kaneki let out a howling scream of pain and when she lifted her foot off his hand, he brought it to his chest and held it tenderly.

' **Dude.** ' Xeno said, impressed. ' **Fucking savage.** '

Marcus seconded that notion. This was the best way to teach how to the Kagune. Pain and danger. The ghoul claw is based on a ghoul's instincts. He knew this quite well. It was why the eyes changed every time it was brought forth. An involuntary reaction to both the elevated level of RC and the instincts. Ask any ghoul and they will tell you that the first time they used their Kagune was under duress. The Brit could be the only exception as his instincts had their own damn opinion. A ghoul has to be able to draw upon their instincts at will to summon the Kagune at will. The best method to this was to get the ghoul used to the feeling of those instincts. So that they would remember to what to look for when they needed to draw upon it. That meant putting them through danger that would make them start using the instinct of survival. They would react naturally and use their Kagune without thinking. From there it was repetition till they were used to the feeling and could use it at will. Which Kaneki was at a disadvantage because he keeps resisting his instincts and he was not eating to boot.

"Relax. It'll be healed by tomorrow." She scoffed. Then her Kakugans flashed and She willed forth her Kagune. "But this won't heal so fast. You might die from it. If you do, I'll make sure you're disposed of."

Touka lunged. Fear and adrenaline pounded through Kaneki's veins. She truly did not care if he died and the half-breed was fully aware of that fact. He was going to die here and would have just as much dignity as the time he fell off the cliff. Can't he catch a damn break? He literally just said that he was done being helpless. He was fucking tired of this shit. He was tired of being helpless. He said he was going help Touka and help Hinami. He was not going to die here, Fear was replaced with rage as his ghoul instincts were brought forth. His Kakugan flared to life with defiance showing in his eyes and pair of his, rather Rize's Rinkaku Kagune tentacles exploded from his back and shot around in front him deflecting Touka's strike. It was thinner than before and not as dark of a red.

Touka huffed and let her Kagune flicker and die out, saying with a hint of exasperation. "There you go. Though it is weaker than the one you used to kicked Nishiki's ass."

"That's because he's still scared of it," Marcus commented from his seat. "And he's still not eating properly. I can smell it."

She shook her head. "That's no good. If you want to be more involved like you said you wanted then you can't be in that halfway state you were before. It's either all ghoul or dead."

"Okay," Kaneki said slowly. His Kagune was still formed but it was got thinner and lost it's color till it fully dissolved.

"Let's go back upstairs ." She suggested and went over to the ladder. She grabbed her jacket off of the Kakuja's lap, threw it on, and started climbing.

The half-breed's Kakugan faded as he leaned forward and sighed. Marcus stood up and walked over to him. The Brit held out his hand. "Don't take it personally. She's had a hell of a time lately. It's been grating at her."

Kaneki took his hand and the green eyed ghoul pulled him up. The college student said. "Thank you."

They worked their way up the ladder and back up to the shop. On the way, the adopted Mado explain Rinkaku type ghouls. "Rinkaku ghouls are built sturdy and they heal quickly. Faster than the other three types. However, they can be quite brittle. Like swords, they can take a beating and with help recover but hit it just right and it breaks. You have great striking power and can pierce almost anything. You also have Rize's Kakuhou, ghoul organ. You have her strength, I've seen it. You actually landed a few heavy hits on me the other day. Train hard and you could be hell in a fight. Though you shouldn't rely on your Kagune."

By this point, they had reached the shop again, and Touka had heard the last sentence and commented from her place leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. "You might be forced to maintain your cover or not have enough strength to bring it out. You'll need to bulk up. Build some muscle. Do a hundred sit-ups, back extensions, push-ups and squats every day."

"Uh, Touka. That's a bit much right out the gate. You gotta take it slow starting out." The Brit noted.

"Whatever." She scoffed and held and unfolded one of her arms and held out a couple of rolls of medical gauze and tape. Kaneki reached out to take them. With his guard down, he couldn't do anything to defend himself when Touka reached out with her other hand and quickly pulled his shirt up revealing his untoned, undefined, smooth torso. "Take it slow, my ass! You planning on fighting with a body like this! You'll be creamed! Put on some muscle!"

The half-breed floundered about trying to get his shirt back down. He replied frantically. "I will! I will!"

Marcus just leaned against the counter to watch the show. That was when Uta opened the coffee shop door that Touka left unlocked. He had on a checkerboard designed long coat, white trousers with black does on it like a bucket of paint splattered next to it, with black slippers and black socks. He also had a black beanie on and sunglasses. He held a cloth bag in his right-hand Everyone turned their attention to the newcomer. Freezing in the positions they were in.

Uta gazed at them blankly then said. "Sorry. Am I interrupting?"

At which point Marcus starts dying of laughter. Kaneki shoved back Touka and straightened out his shirt. "No, no! It's not like that!"

"Hey, Uta." The violet haired ghoul greeted calmly. "What are you doing here?"

"I finished the mask and I wanted to deliver it right away. I was going to drop it off, but since you're here, I'd like to see it on you" The gothic ghoul shut the door as he stepped into the shop, walked over to the counter, and set the bag on it, explaining the whole way.

Kaneki's eyes widened in anticipation. Uta pulled it out and showcased it for a few seconds. Its appearance was startling but the half-breed allowed the goth to put it on him. The mask was black leather. The kind they use for biker jackets and furniture. It covered the lower half of his face from the cheekbones down. It didn't go all the way over his nose like Marcus'. It just covered the tip. It went down and wrapped around his neck in a collar that fastened with Velcro in the back. A zipper ran over his Adam's Apple, from the base of the chin to the bottom of the collar. A strap that went over his ear and around the top of his head held the face part on. There was a black leather eyepatch that went over his right eye instead of his left and was held onto the main part of the mask with some string. As to not detract from the appearance. Over his mouth was a large lipless mouth with gnashing teeth and another functional zipper between the teeth. There large bolts on either side of the neck.

Uta stepped back and let the others see it. "Well, what do you think?"

"Not bad," Touka said with approval. "Very Frankenstein. It suits him, nicely."

"When he came into my shop, he felt like he was uncomfortable in his own skin and Yoshimura had told me of his particular nature. So I thought a physical manifestation of his ghoul side might help him adjust." The goth explained.

"It might actually." Marcus agreed. He had taken the time to calm down from his laughing fit while they put on the mask. "I like what you did with the eyepatch."

"I thought the eyepatch style was his thing, so I threw it in there." The mask maker replied. "I would've had to you yesterday when I dropped off Marcus' but I had run out of leather. Had to borrow some from a guy who sells masks for those bondage guys. Actually, he asked if he could buy it off me but I told him it was already sold."

"But I wear it on the other side," Kaneki noted pointing to the eyepatch. Missing the last sentence entirely.

"I wanted to see the eye you were hiding." The tattooed ghoul stated.

Kaneki fingered the leather on the cheek. _The cold feel of_ _leather. Peeking at the world from my other eye. It was strangely exciting._

The half-breed nodded his gratitude to Uta. "Thank you. I like it."

"That's good. All that hard work is worth nothing if the buyer doesn't like the product." Uta said then he grabbed the cloth bag and turned to leave. "I've got a few more deliveries make. I'll see you later."

Marcus hesitated for a few seconds before chasing after the goth, giving him a chance to get halfway out the door. "Uta, wait."

"Yeah?" He mumbled in response.

"Where did you get inspiration for my mask?" The Brit asked.

The gothic ghoul blinked. "You don't like it?" He sounded genuinely worried.

"No, no, no. It's nice." The green eyed ghoul assured. "I'm just curious."

He paused to think about it, if his eyes were visible the Brit would have seen them drifting up and the left. Then Uta looked at him and answered. "I'm good at reading people. It helps create masks that fit the wearer. When I read you, you seemed different than most ghouls. When it comes to our predator nature, there are three views that most ghouls have. That I've seen, anyways. Some avoid it and can't kill, like Kaneki or Ryouko. Some accept it with regret and treat it like a necessary sin. That is quite common. Nearly all of Anteiku have that attitude. Then there's those who take it in and are driven insane by it. The most notable in that category is Rize and Tsukiyama."

Marcus leaned against the door and nodded.

Uta continued. "You're different from them. When a ghoul come into my shop, it's like viewing a human pretending to be a wolf. When you walked in, it was like a real wolf had stepped in. The others' nature is on the surface, yours is bone deep, a part of you. When you waited for your turn on the measuring seat, you were by the door and kept Touka by you. Ready to leave at a moment's notice. When I was measuring you, every time I was behind you or around your neck, you tensed. I knew if I made any quick movements you would take my head. There's a purity about it. I know when you hunt it's unclouded by conscience, remorse or delusions of morality."

Marcus snorted a laugh and grinned as he recognized the paraphrased quote. "And I happened to be wearing my Nostromo jacket."

"And you happened to be wearing your Nostromo jacket." The goth added on then asked jokingly. "Am I free to go?"

The Kakuja nodded. "Yeah"

Uta left, letting the door close on its own. Marcus stayed there leaning against the door frame. He wondered if the goth was telling the truth or if everything lined just right for him to lie convincingly. The mask was a perfect fit, in more ways than one. The gothic ghoul was right, he was a predator down deep inside. Even though he was more logical than his other half, he was a hunter. Any profiler worth half his salt could pick that up. _Alien_ is a cult classic. It would've made it's way to Japan by either official transport or bootlegs. It all lines up but that may be the issue. The mask maker was a fourth ward native. He might have been able to put the pieces together or he knew from the get go. Either way, Uta needed to be watched.

Marcus shook his head. He would have to worry about it later. He has to take care of the investigator problem first. He walked back to the others with a purpose. "Right then. We have a mission. We have the will. Now, we have the ability to protect out identities. Now, we need a plan."

"I've got something," Touka replied and pointed a finger at Kaneki. "You. Meet me at the train station. Four o'clock."

Kaneki was in the middle of taking his mask off, which he was having difficulty with. The latches kept catching. "Uh. Sure."

' _Great. She'll be late again._ '

* * *

Which she was. Kaneki bowed his head annoyed. It's four twenty. If she kept to her usual pattern she would be another twenty minutes. If that were the case. Nope. Touka showed up not a minute later.

"Yo." She greeted.

"You're early today," Kaneki said surprised. He noticed that she was holding a couple of shopping bags. "What's in those?"

"Our clothes." She held one out to him. "Change into that. I borrowed them so don't get 'em dirty."

"Okay." He said slowly before heading to the men's restroom to change.

When he came out he was wearing a school uniform to a high school that he didn't recognize. It consisted of dark blue themed plaid slacks and navy blue tux jacket that had white lines that ran along the edges of the collar. He had on a navy blue tie with a standard white dress shirt. It was a little embarrassing for him. He hoped that no one he knew saw him. He thought he looked like a cosplayer. He didn't even know what this was for. Touka then walked out of the adjacent girl's bathroom wearing the girls uniform for the same high school. The only difference was that it had a mid-thigh length skirt instead of pants. She had her hair done in a couple of short pigtails still keeping her hair covering one eye and she had a pair of glasses.

Touka gave him a one over and commented. "It fits you perfectly and doesn't look unnatural at all. You still have a kid's face. But you could still use a little touch-up."

She then proceeded to grab his head and start mussing it up. A slightly difficult task as she was at least five inches shower than him. She grabbed his eyepatch and ordered. "Unbutton your jacket, loosen your tie and unbutton the top button of your shirt."

Once that was done, Touka stuffed the eyepatch in her jacket pocket and started walking down the street. Kaneki rushed to over to her side. Walking together side by side mace them look like the lucky bad boy who scored with the hot straight A student. The walked on for close to fifteen minutes in silence, all the while the half-breed grew more and more curious. The residential buildings soon became unending walls of restaurants of multiple varieties.

"Mind explaining what we're doing?" Kaneki asked slightly peeved. "Wearing a uniform, messing up my hair. What's this all about?"

Then they entered a city block with only one building. The twentieth ward's only skyscraper. The branch office for the CCG. It was menacingly tall at height of twenty stories. It was oddly designed. Like someone had cut a square wedge out of the corner of the bottom seventeen floors. There were windows on either side of the wedge and the top. Those were the only windows on the building, the rest was just black steel. A sign the size of a car proudly identified the place as the CCG's twentieth ward office.

"This is…" Kaneki muttered slowly, as his eyes widened in fear at the realization of where he was.

"The CCG. Commission of Counter Ghoul. Their branch office anyway." Touka finished his sentence with nonchalance.

"You can't be thinking about going in there!" He exclaimed.

"Not "Me." "We."" She then grabbed him by the tie and started dragging him towards the entrance.

He protested quite strongly. "You gotta be kidding! We can't just go barging into enemy territory!"

"Shut up." She grumbled. Touka pulled him towards a large display case that was installed in the wall a dozen yards from the main entrance. In it were several wanted posters and seeking information signs. She commanded pointing the half-breed towards the case. "Look at this."

The college student stumbled as he was thrown off balance by the girl's forced direction. He balanced himself and looked at the posters and quickly found Hinami's poster. It only mentioned the description of the clothes she wore the day Ryouko died.

"The investigators take tips from the public. Putting up these posters. Gets more eyes looking. Another thing to worry about with human friends." Touka explained. "So, today we're Shuyu high school students and we're turning in a tip. I'll do the talking, just nod your head."

"Okay. Though I'm nervous without my eyepatch." He said uncertainly.

She pulled out a small plastic bag that had one of Yoshimura's special sugar cubes in it. "Gnaw on this. It'll keep it at bay while we're here."

Kaneki took the bag, opened it, popped the cube in his mouth and stuffed the empty bag in his pocket. Together they stepped into enemy territory where the slightest mistake could kill them.

The CCG lobby was huge. It was about the size of a college classroom . The kind that can hold sixty students with plenty of stretch room. It was wider than it was long by a fifteen-foot margin. About twenty feet from the door was the reception desk, and off to either side of the desk were a pair of waiting areas. Five feet behind that was a low aluminum wall barely three feet tall. Another wall ran perpendicular towards the back of the room that connected to the mall wall directly behind the reception desk. It created two sectioned off pathways that went in opposite directions The main wall was only interrupted twice by openings that look like metal detector gates on either side of the reception desk. Behind the gates to the side are small desks with a computer screen and a pair of men in suits. The gates opened into their respective pathways. The one on the left went into a group of discussion rooms. The one on the right went to the elevators and stairs.

The two ghouls went up to the reception desk and declared that they had information on an investigation. The reception girl was cute and way too peppy for it to be real. She handed them a fill-in form for contact information and told them to sit down in one of the waiting areas after they filled it out. Touka put down some bogus information and handed it back. The two of them occupied a couch in a waiting area and sat down in it. Men and women wearing suits walked in and out, some of them carrying Quinque cases, some not. A good majority of the people were investigators. Kaneki could hear some of the conversations they were having about cases. Both of them felt uncomfortable in here. Every time someone carrying a case passed them it felt like they had been caught. This was bad for their health.

Kaneki looked at the gates and asked. "What are those?"

Touka's eyes flickered at it blankly and answered. "It's an RC scan gate."

"RC scan gate?" He repeated curiously.

"Don't know much about it but a ghoul's RC factor is something like ten times that of a human." She explained. "if a doctor can analyze a blood sample they can find out away. That gate's designed to respond to those high numbers. Ghouls can't go any further than that. It's still under development and costs a hell of a lot of money. It's not that widespread yet. I hear some of the big companies use it but that's about it."

"If it becomes widely used…" He said slowly and finished in his head. 'There would be nowhere we could hide.'

A few moments of pregnant silence passed before a women walked up to them in a dark pinstripe suit. She greeted with a smile and a peppy voice. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Ruisawa with the intelligence department. Aren't you two just the cutest little tipsters? It's nice to meet you."

'Is she for real?' Kaneki asked himself.

Ruisawa sat down on the couch and pulled out a notepad and pencil. "So, what did you see?"

Touka fed the investigator a bogus story about seeing a girl wearing the same clothes that were described on the wanted poster for Hinami down by a river at a random school near the edge of the twentieth ward. Kaneki commented at his fellow ghoul's prompts.

Once Touka finished her little tale the woman asked. "Did you notice anything else. Anything at all? Every detail helps."

The high school girl shook her head. Looking forlorn. "No. I ran out of there as soon as I could. I heard ghouls are a lot stronger than humans. It got me wondering to how investigators fight them. What gives them an advantage of those things?"

"I'm sorry I'm not allowed to disclose that kind of information but…" She clapped her hands and said positively. "Don't worry! The main office sent some highly trained investigators! And one of them is tall and rather handsome. They're the ones who took care of the mother. I'm sure they'll be able to take care of this one, too!"

The female ghoul let out a fake sigh of relief. "That's good to hear, but…"

"But what?"

"It must break their hearts to kill a little girl."

It was a baited statement but it answered something important. It answered how determined the investigators would be to hunt them down and kill them.

Without missing a beat or having to pause to think about it and be any less peppy, she answered. "Not at all. They're a threat to us. They deserve to be exterminated."

"I guess you're right." The violet haired girl responded slowly.

"Well, if that's everything then I'll let you go," Ruisawa said. "Thank you for your help, you made a great contribution today."

She stood up and left. They sat there, letting the statement sink in. The way she said it. "They deserve to be exterminated." She said it with such assurance it was like she had been indoctrinated like the Nazis were. That everything they had been taught was the truth, the whole and nothing but the truth and they were taught it to the point where it was the only thing they can believe. The ghouls got up and started heading towards the door. They had learned a lot here but was it really worth the risk? The weight of what the woman said was especially taxing.

Touka was engulfed by the thoughts the statement had brought on. So engulfed that she didn't see the oncoming man that accidentally walked into her injured arm. She cried out in pain and dropped to her knees, holding her arm. Twice in two days. She needed to be more careful.

"I'm sorry, young lady." A white-gloved hand was held out to her. "Are you alright?"

Touka looked up to respond but froze when she saw it was Kureo who had bumped into her and was offering to help her up. She hesitated; her brain short-circuiting. "I'm… I'm sorry!"

She shot past the human and grabbed Kaneki by the arm and ushered him towards the door. She wanted to kill the investigator. She wanted to kill him so badly, but she knew it would be a bad idea to do that in the middle of dove central. It was literally the fastest way to die for a ghoul. She had to get out of there or else she would end up doing something life-ending level of stupid. That would end this whole thing before she had a chance to do anything. She wasn't going to screw up Marcus' plan that he had spent the entire night working on. Between the two of them, Hinami will be able to live her life as close to a normal girl as possible.

"Touka! That was-" Kaneki whisper yelled.

She replied sharply and quietly. "Not now! And don't say my name here!"

Kureo looked at them oddly. That was some unusually rude behavior. The girl looked rather upstanding to act like that towards an elder. He would've expected that from the boy but not from her. Actually, looking at him now, the investigator noticed that punkish kid looked too meek. His clothes and hair looked right but his movements weren't a match. He seemed too unsure of himself. If he was fake then most likely so was she. There was her arm as well. She acted like it had been freshly injured. It was also the same side he struck rabbit.

Ruisawa passed by at that moment having already passed the report up the chain of command. Kureo turned to her and demanded politely. "Miss, who was that?"

She answered still as peppy as before. "High school students with some information about your case."

Kureo squinted his eyes suspiciously before calling out running up to them. "Excuse me! You two!"

The two of them froze in their tracks. Touka was subtle about while Kaneki about jumped out of his skin. They turned while Touka said, keeping her alias. "Yes, mister?"

"Your eyewitness report on 745. I'm Investigator Mado and I'm in charge of that case. Would you mind telling me a bit more about what you saw…" In a wide sweeping gesture; that every investigator in the room who were previously curious before, saw making them fully invested; he beckoned them towards the RC scan gate. "…inside?"

It wasn't the first time a ghoul had been caught trying to give false information on a case. It had actually happened enough times and they hadn't been ready for it that it was now an unspoken agreement to make all investigators in the lobby aware of any suspicions. Touka was well aware of it. She could see, no, feel all the eyes on them. Most of the doves were casual about it, making no particular change to the way they stood or held themselves. The others, notably the younger ones, were obviously tense and ready. Some even had their hands on their guns, those who had them. Just two words to sum this up: shit, fan.

"Don't worry. I won't take too much of your time." Kureo said assuring. Though the crazed look in his eyes and the psychopathic grin showed his real intentions. "Please."

"I-I'm sorry. This took longer than we expected." Touka excused hurriedly. Fumbling over her words. "We need to get going."

The older investigator held up a hand with his fingers spread. "Five minutes. That's all I ask."

Touka gritted her teeth. They had nowhere to go. Kaneki saw her tense up. He knew how screwed they were.

Suddenly, the older investigator stepped forward in front of the half-breed and pointed a finger at him. "You saw her too, didn't you? You'll do. I'll keep it short come with me."

Kureo grabbed Kaneki by the arm and started dragging him through the gate. The half-breed starting freaking out in every sense of the phrase possible. He was going to pass through the scan gate. The ghoul organ that was transplanted in him was going to set it off. He was in such a state of panic that he couldn't do anything to stop it from happening. His heart was pounding, his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Capable of only thinking about how he was going to die. Painfully. Painlessly. Slow or fast. Tortured, experimented upon, tore apart by a hail of bullets, or perhaps all the above. Nonetheless, he was going to die as soon as he stepped through that gate. In three, two and one. Kaneki stepped over the threshold of the gate.

.

.

.

If there were crickets, they would be chirping.

'Well. This is awkward.' Kureo thought. Though there still was a chance. As far as Kureo saw it, she could've brought a human in preparation. Use him to validate her. Just then Amon walked in. The elder investigator requested pointing towards Touka. "Amon! Could you please escort the young woman over here? She brought us information about number seven forty-five and I want to ask her some questions."

Touka turned around to see Amon looming a few feet from the entrance and a few feet from her. To be fair though with his massive size, he probably looms over everything like an over watching titan. He wore the same outfit he always seems to wear to work. Black suit and tie with the silver cross over the tie. Though today he had added a medical eyepatch. Not like Kaneki's. Closer to a bandage than an eyepatch. His eye injury was still fresh. The doctors said that he was lucky he wasn't losing it. He was also smart enough to bring his Quinque case. He learned that lesson.

Amon heard that, looked around, and was able to put two and two together. He grabbed Touka firmly but gently by the shoulder. His requested. "Please, miss. Come with me."

Touka gritted her teeth, keeping her enraged growl to herself. Then she let him direct herself towards the gate. There were only a few investigators on the other side of the gate including Kureo and Kaneki's there. If she cup-checks Amon as she reaches the gate, grab Kaneki and make a break for it. She could go out through the windows and run for the hills. If she moved fast enough they might have a chance. In the end, that planning was pointless as a thunderstorm of motherly rage walked.

"Terrorizing one child not enough for you, dad?!" Akira demanded out loud.

All eyes shifted over to her. Touka barely held her sigh of relief until she noticed Akira expression. The high school girl unfortunately never had the chance to witness motherly rage. Ryouko was too nice to ever reach that level of rage. The only other major female figure in her life was Irimi and hers was a sisterly kind of rage. Not as great as motherly. She can scratch that off her things to do before she's twenty. Though it's not one to be too proud of.

Akira stalked straight towards Kureo, who looked legitimately terrified. She slapped Amon's hand away from Touka and nodded to her. "Get outta here."

Touka nodded to the youngest Mado present then gestured to Kaneki. "Let's go."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have to go!" Kaneki bowed respectfully then caught up to his fellow ghoul where they ran like hell.

The blonde investigator walked right up to her father. The tall investigator followed her tentatively. She said. "You didn't think I wouldn't figure out what you did? What you're doing?"

"What do you mean?" Kureo asked. 'She hasn't figured it out, has she?'

"I know you've had issues with my adopted son. That you antagonized him. I was unhappy with but otherwise unperturbed. " She snarled. "But raise a hand against him one more time and I'll tear your career apart."

Amon paused when he heard that. Akira had a son, an adopted son? It wasn't unheard of for investigators to adopt some of the children that were orphaned by the ghouls. Particularly children who were orphaned on their cases. On their watch. Investigators do it as some sort of penance or redemption for not being fast enough to save the child's parents. Knowing what it was like to be an orphan, he can certainly understand the sentiment. Though he never expected Akira to adopt one. She seemed too involved in her work to think about that. Kind of like someone else he knew a long time ago. Aware that this wasn't a conversation that he should be involved in. He stepped away. No, he's not running, he's taking cover. Much more manly.

Kureo clenched his fist and snarled a whisper. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Keeping my son safe from you." She shot back quietly. "I know what you did. You've gone too far. Starting today, I'm using all the leverage given to me by my position to get put in the Cage or off the force entirely. Which one happens, depends on whether or not you stop this charade."

The Cage. Where Quinques are stored, managed and maintained. It also a career ender for investigators. With her piece said, Akira and left. Her rage still more than evident. Kureo's fists tightened to the point where the gloves started stretching. That bastard. That ghoul bastard had completely taken his daughter. She had been so completely convinced by his fake search for redemption that he made her hate her own father. That ghoul had taken away the only he had left in this world that was worth fighting for. He was done with this shit. No more pussyfooting around. No more of this indirect bullshit. He was going straight for the kill. He was going to make Marcus pay, even if he died while doing it. In the determined walk of a man on a mission. Kureo moved towards the exit.

'Anything to keep him away from my daughter.'

Amon rushed to catch up. "Where are you going, sir?!"

"Out," Kureo said tersely. "I have work to do."

"But what about Kusaba's memorial service in the auditorium?" The younger investigator asked.

"I would rather spend that time working. Wouldn't you?" countered the elder Mado.

Amon paused to think about that, letting Kureo leave. Despite his partner being gone he still answered the question. Maybe he was making sure it was the answer he wanted. "Yes, sir."

The memorial service was nothing special. The only speech given was that by the Manager of the twentieth ward office and it lasted about half a minute. Then they were asked to give a moment of silence. Amon was glad that Kusaba's family wasn't present, they would've abhorred how impersonal and it's failure to honor his memory. The tall investigator couldn't say that he knew the guy personally or really respected him as a friend. He was young, naïve and green. Though he was determined enough, if he lived long enough he might have been good at his job. Even if he never rose any higher in the chain of command. It just seemed like a waste of good person's potential.

As Amon left, he ran into Nakajima who looked worse for wear. He had sunken eyes and his five o'clock shadow thickened some. The mentally strained investigator asked wearily. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

See that the man really needed to talk, the younger investigator answered. "Sure."

They left and headed for that ramen shop they ate at earlier. Kusaba was quiet and brooding the whole walk over and for few minutes after they ordered their meals. Amon just wondered if the guy was going to talk when he said. "I'm glad he wasn't married. It would've been a pity if he had a wife."

The taller investigator nodded. "That it would be."

Writing letters to a spouse telling their loved one died, is a responsibility no one wants.

"He looked up to you, ya know." The bedraggled investigator stated.

The younger man sighed. "I'm not-"

The cook came by and dropped off their meals. "Here ya go. Hey, where's your friend with the glasses?"

The more righteous investigator winced. When the cook didn't get an answer, he just shrugged and went back to work. Nakajima looked at hid food solemnly.

"I always order this combo here. Every time I did, he teased me about it. Then the idiot would make me pay. I never did anything about but just think 'shut up and eat'. I never realized how much I depended on that." He covered his eyes and tears overflowed from them. "He was my partner, dammit. Who am I gonna buy lunch for, now?"

Amon sighed picked up his chopsticks then devoured his meal with the intensity of a man proving a point. Downing the entire bowl of ramen in less a few minutes. He set it down and place the chopsticks on top of it. As though he didn't turn into a raving ramen monster for a few seconds. "There was no good reason for Kusaba to be killed. The world is wrong. We have to correct it. Nakajima. Buy me lunch sometime. Although, I'm a bigger eater."

Nakajima stared in blank surprise. Then a faint smile touched his features. "Just eat my paycheck and get it over with."

They parted ways, Nakajima paid the check. Amon headed home. The whole night he couldn't stop thinking about how wrong it all was. A man just trying to uphold justice. Children robbed of their loved ones. People who fought to protect others. Why did they have to die? It was all just so wrong. He was going to have to change it. Tear it down and rebuild it. That meant killing every ghoul. That meant preventing anyone else from dying. This world was wrong and it was his job to change it. He was an investigator of the CCG.

* * *

Kaneki was looking through the newspaper when he saw a small article with the title "investigator killed." They had a picture of Kusaba and the college student was sure that he recognized the dove. He was there when Ryouka.

Touka came by and snagged the paper out of his hand. She only glanced at it for a second, she locked onto the article like the half-breed had. She frowned tersely and said. "You should be working."

"That man in the article. He was one of the investigators." Kaneki said slowly. He already knew the answer but he had to ask. "Was that you?"

"What if it was?" She replied sharply without a moment's pause. "I'm a murderer. If I have to kill to protect those I care about then I'll kill them all. Every last one."

Kaneki's eyes widened in surprise for a second. He realized that being born a ghoul. She must have a different value on life. Kind of like Marcus. They were rather similar on that remark. They only cared about them and their own. They really didn't care about anyone else, and god forgive the people would try to harm those the two of them cared about. Maybe that was why they got along so well. They thought the same way. The half-breed felt like the third wheel. He didn't quite understand that the same way they did. He placed value on all life. It was part of why he couldn't eat flesh. He couldn't get past the fact that people died for that food. He wondered if maybe it was time that he reconsidered that point of view.

"I'm gonna bring Hinami some coffee," Touka said. Reaching for a tray that had a fresh cup of coffee.

"About Hinami." Kaneki notified solemnly , glad for the distraction from his thoughts. Though this wasn't much better. "She doesn't seem to be doing that well. I don't think she's sleeping. Mr. Yoshimura said she hasn't eaten since that day. I'm a bit worried."

She looked at him silently. That was a good thing to worry about but she needed the half-breed's head in the game. She walked towards him, rolled up the newspaper she still had and thumped it against his chest. She complained in playful annoyance. "She's not sleeping because you lent her that long-ass Sen whatever's book. She's having issues because she's stuck in that room. Only one way to cheer her up and that's to get her out. That's why we risked our lives going to the CCG."

As Touka left with the tray that had the coffee on it, running off with his newspaper in the process, Kaneki pondered what she said. Was it actually what she meant, or just a convenient and partially true excuse for revenge?

Hinami was laying on the couch in the meeting room, a white sheet pulled over her up to her shoulders. She wasn't sleeping. She couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the beaten and bloodied form of her mother before Kaneki covered her eyes just as Kureo cut off Ryouko's head. She remembered the sound of tearing flesh and the thump of something hitting the ground. The smell of blood and death in the air. It all came back to her every time she even thought about sleeping and the few fitful minutes of sleep she might manage to get were filled with nightmares of the old man coming and taking her head, Touka's head, Kaneki's. Everyone she ever cared about lost their head. A knock at the door interrupted those dreary thoughts, Hinami sat up as Touka stepped in.

"Hey, Hina. Sorry, were you sleeping?" The high school greeted, trying to be lighthearted. Hoping that Hinami might be helped by it. "Heard you haven't been eating. You're still a growing girl, you gotta eat."

"Yeah." The girl said drearily. There were dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

The violet haired teenager looked on sadly. Then she put an air of nonchalance and sat down next to the heartbroken child. "It's all right. You don't have to worry about a thing. I'll take care of everything. I'll show you a bigger world than this tiny room. So just hang in there for a little longer."

"Okay." The last Fueguchi replied, her eyelids lowering in tiredness. She noticed the newspaper in the teenager's hands and a bit of childish innocence came back to her eyes. "What's that?"

Touka looked at the girl blankly in surprise for a second before answering. "Oh, It's a newspaper. The manager has a business subscription to a few of them for the customers."

"Wow. So many words." Hinami said with honest to goodness amazement. The first positive emotion out of her in a few days.

The high school girl smiled at that. It showed she was recovering, slowly but surely. The purple head tossed the newspaper to the girl, who caught who fumbled with catching it for a short bit. "Keep it. You're studying, right? It'll teach you about the human world also. It can be kinda interesting at times."

"Wow! Thanks, Touka!" The young girl exclaimed with glee. If it wasn't for the dark circles she would seem like herself again. "I'll ask Kaneki if I come across any words I don't know."

"You're not gonna ask me?" The older girl asked with feigned disappointment. "Fine."

The young Fueguchi looked up in alarm. "Oh! No, no. I didn't-"

The seventeen-year-old chuckled and patted the preteen on the head. "It's fine. Have fun, alright?"

The brown haired girl nodded enthusiastically. "I will!"

Smiling Touka left giving Hinami a little wave. She missed it. Already engrossed in the newspaper. The high school girl just closed the door quietly and leaned against it. A weight seemed to have been lifted off of her chest. She had briefly worried that despite everything she was doing for the girl, it wouldn't matter in the end if she would never recover from this depression. It was nice to see her heal some. Seeing the young girl smile again did wonders for the high school student. It definitely was a relief. She wondered who the visit helped more. Her or Hinami?

* * *

Kureo looked around the opening to the underground waterway ran beneath Tokyo. Amon and Nakajima were there too. The latter was looking a little better after a night of real sleep. The Quinque qualified investigators had the anti-ghoul weapons with them and wearing their trench coats. The old man also had a leather bag with him.

Amon took one last look around and sighed. "There's no sign anyone's been here. Their backgrounds were fake and so was the tip. Shoulda listened to you, sir."

"Yes, you should've," Kureo replied never diverting his attention from the large underground passage.

The location. Something about it doesn't seem right. This waterway connects straight to the sewer system that runs throughout in Tokyo. Which can be used to access the Twenty-fourth ward. Which means one can go anywhere in Tokyo from here so long as they knew the tunnels like the back of their hand. Marcus did. He was more than involved in this little showdown. He would know what location would best to take on the old man. This place worked. It had a lot of pillars, both load bearing and not. The older investigator wouldn't be able to use Fueguchi One in here all that effectively, which would force him to use which one of his smaller ones. The Kakuja was well versed in hand-to-hand for his age thanks to Akira especially Wing Chun . Which in the Brit's hands could render any small size Quinque near useless. This was the spot. No doubt.

Amon shrugged. "We have to consider this could just be a prank."

"We get plenty of those," Nakajima commented.

"We're only wasting time here. Let's go." The youngest of the three of them said.

"Go on ahead." Kureo waved a hand dismissively waving the bag in the meanwhile. "I want to look into something."

Amon watched the bag in scrutiny. He had already asked about it but got a cryptic answer. He just shrugged it off and walked away. The man was having some family issues he was entitled to a few secrets. Kureo moved down the tunnel. A manic grin on his face.

On top of a building nearby, Marcus was crouched, wearing his hunting attire, and watched the investigators. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Touka. Then he vanished.

* * *

Hinami read the newspaper with enthusiasm. She agreed with Touka. It was interesting to read about what was going on in the human world. Between learning more about humans and new words, she was feeling pretty good right now. She came across a new word. Condolences. Curious she looked it up in a dictionary. It meant: expression of sympathy, sadness. Kind of like how she was right now. Being reminded of what she was going through, she went back to the newspaper. Maybe she could get her mind off things again. She paused at an article titled "Investigator Killed." She looked at the picture of Kusaba and her eyes widened in horror as she remembered him. He was there in all her nightmares.

"I'll take care of everything." Touka had said.

Hinami rose slowly, tears fell from her eyes. "What did you do, Touka?"

Touka and Kaneki were charged with closing up shop at the end of the day. She asked, putting on a dark jacket to go with her school uniform. "Did you lock the back door?"

"Yep," Kaneki replied. He had on jeans and a blue hoodie over a dress shirt. He looked and said worriedly. "It's awfully quiet up there."

Touka shrugged. "Maybe she's getting some sleep finally."

"Nah, you said she was really interested in that newspaper. She wouldn't sleep until she was done with that and I didn't get a response earlier." The half-breed countered.

Frowning in thought and worry, Touka headed upstairs and Kaneki followed. Once she reached the door to the meeting room, the violet haired ghoul knocked. "Hinami?"

No answer. Touka opened the door. Kaneki was standing off to the side so he didn't see anything but he saw the pure-blood freeze in her tracks. "What is it?"

"Kaneki, check the other rooms."

"Why?"

"Hinami's missing."

A quick search revealed that Hinami wasn't in the shop as was the bag that held some clothes they brought over from the Fueguchi's house. Touka was now running in the streets, looking for the girl, and she was hauling ass. Kaneki was several paces behind her struggling to keep up. He was no runner, that's not his thing. Physical activity is not his thing. He also had to make sure the shop was locked up. Also, she was an ukaku. Outrunning people is kind of their thing.

"Move it or I'll leave you behind!" Touka shouted back to him.

Kaneki barely heard her. "Huh?!"

Snarling in frustration at the half-breed's incompetence, her Kakugans flashed to life as she drew upon her ghoul nature. Touka took a great leap and started scaling the wall of the building they just started to pass. Using the railings of the balconies on the building as foot holds she climbed it a couple floors at a time. Getting to the top of the five-story building in a few seconds. Kaneki was only able to see her in the night because the building was white. From there she started to hop from rooftop to rooftop. Keeping her eyes towards the ground, hoping she would see Hinami in the alleys and get this damn search over with. Her only hope was that the investigators weren't out hunting.

Kaneki pulled out his cell phone and called Marcus. He was the best person to find Hinami. He can track her and was the only one who was unaffected by the unlit night thanks to the new moon. When the call was picked up, he didn't even give the chance for the Brit to say a greeting. "Hinami's missing."

Marcus swore in English. A rare event. "Do you have any idea where she went?"

"No. Not a clue." The half-breed answered. "That's why I called you."

"'Cause I can track, right. I'll head over to the shop try and pick up her scent. Keep an eye out. I never saw Kureo and Amon go back to the branch office. Assume that they're still out there." The Kakuja notified.

"Okay!" The college student replied before hanging up.

As Touka jumped from roof top to roof top, she thought about what would make Hinami leave. It didn't make sense. What could upset her so much? Unless, that newspaper. There was that article about the investigator she had killed. She gave it to the young ghoul, practically forgetting about it. The high schooler might have even thought that the child might not have put it together that she was the one who killed him. She should have know better. The Fueguchi was bright. The violet haired ghoul felt she always keep messing things up with those that she cares about. A certain person came to mind. She said his name sadly to herself

A strong scent drifted on the winds and up her nostrils. "What's this smell?"

Then Hinami's scream followed the scent. Touka quickly turned direction and moved towards the direction the scream came from. It was the direction of that high school they baited the investigators towards.

'Why is she over here?'

Touka landed next to the waterway opening that she specifically pointed the CCG towards. She heard sobbing down the tunnel. She hopped into the waterway that it opened up into. Hinami was sitting nearby the opening, curled up against the wall. She was holding something but the high schooler couldn't see it. The teenager felt pity as she noticed that the girl was still wearing her clover print nightgown but she had at least had a jacket on. Though the little girl was shivering from the cold. The hems of her pants were soaked from the ankle high water, too. Which also didn't help. If there weren't walkways that were placed next to the walls, her entire bottom would've been soaked and she would have been on the verge of hypothermia.

Touka walked over to the girl and said with the voice that one uses to usher young ones to bed. "There you are. Had me worried for a second. Come on, let's go home."

"No," Hinami replied quietly, surprising the teenager. The little girl started releasing all the thoughts she's been holding in, no longer having "No matter where I hide, I'm going to be killed anyways."

The violet haired ghoul looked at the Fueguchi in dismay. "No! No way! I won't let that happen!"

"That's why you killed that man? That was you, right?" The brown head asked but didn't wait for an answer. "They probably think I did it. The people who killed Mom are coming to kill me too. So I have to keep running and running. I don't want that. I just want mom. I want to go where she is. Send me to where mommy is."

"Hinami." The violet haired ghoul said softly, trying to figure out what to say in response to that. The young ghoul didn't respond and clutched tighter at what she was holding. Touka caught a glance at it and froze in shock. "What are you holding?"

Hinami shifted her arms and revealed a dismembered hand. Ryouko's hand. Touka's stomach churned at the sight. The young Fueguchi said despairingly. "Why does this happen to us? Aren't we allowed to live? Why?"

The high schooler watched the child sadly. Such questions were a terrible burden on a young girl. She couldn't answer those questions, she didn't even know the answers herself. What she could answer was what she was doing for Hinami. "I went to the CCG's headquarters for the twentieth ward. I talked to them directly. Hinami, they barely have any information on you. They don't have a photo of you or even a sketch. The only people who know you face are those four bastards that were there that day."

Touka stepped towards Hinami, lowered to her knees and hugged the little girl. "Hinami, I'll protect you. I won't let them kill you. That's a promise. I don't know if ghouls are allowed to live either but there has to be a reason we exist."

Hinami started crying and let go of her mother's hand to return the hug. The limb fell to the ground.

"Let's go home." The high school girl said softly.

Touka stood up and took a few steps back. She called Kaneki. He answered exhausted. "Hello?!"

"Kaneki? I found her." She told him.

"Good." He sighed in relief. "Where are you?"

She replied. "Near Kasahara elementary."

"Why was Hinami there?" Alarm filled the half-breed's voice.

The violet haired girl missed it and looked at Hinami, who was setting down the arm with solemn care. "She was attracted here by… Ryouko's hand. Must've been washed down here by the rain."

Panic bubbled over as Kaneki remembered that Ryouko still had her hand when he showed up. "Get out of there Touka! The doves! They're still out there!"

A shiver clawed up Touka's spine as she felt the presence of a third person. She didn't hear the panic ridden ghoul continue to warn her of the impending danger unaware he was too late. She turned slowly to the opening in the underground waterway. Standing there on the same walkway as the two female ghouls was Kureo. Dressed in his full hunting attire with a Quinque case in either hand. One eye wide the other squinted, and a mad grin that could split his face in half. He greeted in a voice that would impress the late, great Hannibal Lector.

"Hello, rabbit."

* * *

Kaneki looked at his phone in despair. "Touka! Damn!" He hung up and started running towards Kasahara.

Thank god, he was already on his way there. When Marcus told him that the doves might still be out he ran for the elementary. He couldn't help but imagine getting there too late to help and wanted to get ahead. Fat load of good that helped. He was by the same waterway that went near Kasahara High school but he was some ways from Touka. He was on the sidewalk that was set near the edge of the wall of the waterway. What kept people from an unfortunate fall or an unexpected was a three-foot high railing. As he ran, the half-breed heard another set of running footfalls. They were heavier and of a wider gait than his. He looked behind him. No one there. He looked over the edge down towards the pathway next to the waterway beneath where he was running.

Amon was there running parallel to Kaneki several paces back. The teenager almost tripped as he panicked some. Then he noticed that the investigator hasn't noticed him yet. Matter of fact, he looked too focused to be aware of his surroundings. That's when the ghoul noticed that the Kureo wasn't there. He quickly put together why. That meant that that Touka was fighting a fair one on one match with the old man. She had a chance to win that. So long as the taller investigator wasn't there. If she was to have a chance at saving Hinami and getting their plan completed. That fight needed to stay one on one. It was going to be his job to make sure it stays that way.

Amon moved with the determination, his tech coat flapped in the wind and against his Quinque. Kureo had called him not too long ago, telling him to head towards the waterway opening near Kasahara, that there were ghouls present. No need to be told twice, he immediately ran for his partner. Suddenly, Kaneki dropped from above and landed in front of the investigator, stopping him. The half-breed had his hood pulled up and his mask on.

'I don't want to go through what I did with Ryouko. Never again.' He told himself bolstering his moral.

"Who are you?" Amon asked coldly. When he wasn't answered, he snarled. "If you won't tell me, then move."

Kaneki didn't hesitate. He charged forth, winding up a punch. All he had to do was buy time, he couldn't let the investigator get to the others. Now, he had been told by both Touka and Marcus that despite his lack of any real muscle definition, if he threw a punch with all he had he could knock an average guy to the ground. Amon may have been bigger than the average human but he was just that. Human. The half-breed threw his punch at the human's chest fully believing he had this. Unfortunately, the college student could never be that lucky. His fist thumped against the towering man's chest harmlessly. He might have done something considering that the investigator had some cracked ribs but he took high-end painkillers designed by the CCG, he barely felt a thing.

A look of derision flashed across Amon's face and he grabbed Kaneki and threw him to the ground with one hand. He planted a knee in the half-breed's chest to hold him down and snarled. "As an investigator, I've run into a few idiots pretending to be ghouls, like you. You shouldn't be wearing that mask.."

He reached down to take off the ghoul's mask. Kaneki really didn't want that to happen. He twisted, Amon's knee sliding off, giving the half-breed freedom of movement. He swung a leg around to kick at the investigator, who flinched in surprise as the foot moved towards his previously injured eye. Not in the mood to have it worsen, the taller investigator brought his arm up to block it. Clear of the pin, and the chance of getting back in it, the ghoul rolled away. Putting some distance between them. He came up to his feet.

Kaneki felt like an idiot. He should've known better. Touka had also said that a properly trained human would be strong enough to not be affected. There was no way that an investigator wouldn't be properly trained and be an average guy. They hunted creatures who were several of times stronger than them. They had to be trained to even survive a fight with a ghoul, let alone win. This didn't change what he had to do. Touka needed every second to beat Kureo and if she couldn't that then Marcus needed time to get to her. Holding off this guy was the best way to do that. All that training meant that he couldn't do this half-assed. He was going have to do this without holding anything back. For the first time, he drew upon his ghoul instincts willingly and his single Kakugan formed.

"You were so inept I thought you were a human," Amon commented derisively, he was surprised that a ghoul could have such a weak punch. Though that didn't matter much. His face settled into a mixture of anger and determination. "But if you are a ghoul, I can't let you live."

He pressed the button that opened the Quinque case and it dropped empty as his club like Quinque formed in his hand. Kaneki froze at the sight of the weapon. He had only glimpsed it when Ryouko died but he had no idea of what it could do. No idea that the advantages he thought he had were countered. So, when Amon charged forth and swung his Quinque in a wide baseball swing, the half-breed just tried to lean out of the way. It went by with a rush of air and the edge of the weighted end brushed the side of his face near the eye socket. It kept going, throwing Amon off balance. He adjusted his stance so he wasn't thrown onto his back and the massive weapon slammed into the ground carving a bevel into the concrete.

A small cut formed where the Quinque grazed the side of Kaneki's face and blood slowly seeped out. The college student held a hand to it, dabbing his fingers in the blood and held out the red stained fingers so he could see it. His blood froze. That thing can harm ghouls. Newly renewed terror flooded through him. He felt really screwed. No wonder the investigators were so terrifying. They had a way to kill ghouls and no one in the ghoul community knew what it was. The one advantage his kind had was torn away from them. It left them weak in a world where they were hated and everyone wanted to kill them. If he was going to survive this he was going have to fight with everything he's got. Including the part of him that he doesn't want to use.

* * *

Kureo walked slowly towards the two female ghouls and greeted as though they were old family friends. "Good to see the two of you again so soon. Fueguchi's daughter and Rabbit. Or do you want me to call you by your fake name Yamaguchi? Entirely your choice."

Touka glared at him and didn't answer. He just continued on without interruption. "I don't get why the gate didn't sound for that boy, assuming that he was human, but I do get why you walked through the front doors of the CCG. A literal death sentence for your kind. At first, I thought it was just to disrupt the investigation with false information, a pathetically crude plan. Then I thought, it must be for the daughter and I took a look at this place. That's when I realized your true plan. You were going to kill me and place the blame on someone else. That way she can live a peaceful life without incurring the wrath of the CCG."

She twitched. That was exactly the plan. She now knew that Marcus wasn't kidding when he said that the man was terrifyingly intelligent.

"You don't need to kill Amon as he is a righteous man but he won't go out of his way and disobey the CCG's orders to get revenge. He's young like that. Nakajima doesn't have strength or will to do anything like that. There're quite a few organizations who would be more than happy to get involved in this. It's an ingenious plan. The threat would be gone and everyone could go back to their relatively peaceful lives. Honestly, though the idea of a monster like you wishing for a peaceful life make me sick." His expression seemed to grow more and more impossibly insane. He was goading her, she knew that but that didn't mean that it wasn't working.

He turned his attention to Hinami. "Did you like my gift, little one? I figured you were missing your mother, so I decided to give you a little memento to remember her by."

With that, Touka's last bit of self-control snapped. A roaring battle cry made of rage echoed out from her as she charged forth. Kureo accepted her challenge with his mass-murderer grin and released the Quinque made from Asaki's Kagune, now officially dubbed Fueguchi one. It threw off the case as it shot towards the ghoul combatant in a spiral movement. She jumped and spun in mid-air, flying through the center of the spiral, the inhumane weapon passing her within inches.

"Impressive! You are certainly no small fry!" Kureo complemented. "If you weren't destined to die today, you might have become troublesome!"

She flew towards the old man, coming at him with a high powered leap kick. He brought his weapon back to block with it. He threw her away with it, sending her towards the wall on the other side of the underground waterway. During flight, she tore off her jacket and summoned her Kagune. She landed against the wall with her feet braced against it and her hand reaching out to dig her fingers into the concrete. There she crystallized her Kagune and fired a barrage of Ukaku shards at the investigator. Like before, he swung his arm back bringing the Quinque back to him having it coil in front of him to shield himself from the ranged attack. He uncoiled it and like a spring, it snapped forth towards her.

Touka jumped off the wall, dodging the demented weapon while her ukaku reverted to its normal form. The anti-ghoul weapon bounced off the wall, cratering it in a cloud of dust and rubble before following her. She landed and sped to the right going around one of the many pillars. More than eager to play cat and mouse, Kureo commanded the Quinque with a flick of his wrist to follow her and impale her in the back. As it neared her, she juked it and leaped into the air. She landed on the centipede-like Quinque between the pillar and the old man. It turned with unnatural speed going around another pillar, seeking to taste her blood. The high school girl jumped off towards another pillar. Her ghoul claw reached out and stabbed into the pillar, swinging her around it.

The Quinque chased her blindly around the pillar. She made her descent, landing in the water in a crouch and sliding back fifteen feet from the speed creating a small v-shaped wake in the murky water. She watched as the Quinque as it sped towards her face. She didn't flinch as it suddenly stopped a few inches from her face. Kureo looked around in appreciative surprise as he noticed that she had led Fueguchi around into wrapping itself around three pillars while forcing him to stretch it into its max length. She smirked in victory reminding herself to thank Marcus for choosing this particular spot. It's width giving plenty of room to run around with speed but all the pillars and columns made it cumbersome for him to use his Quinque.

The nimble moving ghoul ran towards him, throwing her dagger hand strike. The experienced investigator tossed the released Quinque to the side, causing it to go limp and fall from the pillars and splash into the water. He deflected the lethal blow with the other Quinque case and with his newly freed hand, punched her. It was way stronger than it should have been, coming from an older human. It struck her across the face and all momentum she was stopped and spun from the blow. She landed on her back. Her cheek already started to swell and blood dripped down from a cut on her lip.

Touka was dizzy for a second and her eyes were blurry. As the fog vanished from her head and her vision cleared, she saw the old man lift his boot over her head and bring it down in a curb stomp. The violet haired ghoul rolled out of the way and she saw him crater the ground with his foot despite the water cushioning the blow. Wasting no time, she came back at him with her aerial roundhouse kick. He brought his free arm and blocked it wholly, without having his arm broken or being shoved back or even flinching. She quickly retaliated by coming around with another roundhouse kick from the opposite direction with blinding speed. He caught her leg with the same arm with just as much speed. Before she had the chance to wonder what the hell was going on, he threw her into a pillar.

Touka bounced off it, coughing up blood, before splashing into the water. She shook it off and charged with her Kagune ready to strike. "Block this, asshole!"

Kureo grinned and said. "Okay."

He opened the other Quinque case and Ryouko's Kagune spilled out. Much like it was with Fueguchi One, Fueguchi Two was just like it was when Mrs. Fueguchi still had it except it was paler and the red flesh had a darker tone. The high schooler's Kagune slammed into the Quinque harmlessly. She bounced back and stared at the abomination of a weapon in shock. That's how the investigators can kill ghouls, by using their own bodies against them. Then she looked at Fueguchi one and finally realized that it was Asaki's.

Kureo's grin grew well past what should've been possible for a human as he saw Hinami's eyes widen in horror. "What do you think?! I told you that I figured you would missing your Mom! So I decided to bring her along, I even brought along your papa! It's one big family reunion!"

Hinami closed her eyes, tears spilling from her eyes as she clutched the sides and let out a blood-curdling scream. Touka, filled with rage, charged screaming out. "You bastard!"

"Haven't learned anything, have you?!" He held the Quinque handle above his head. It curled down around him, creating a bubble of impenetrable Koukaku flesh. "Still impulsive, short-sighted and rash. Perpetually careless and thus you'll die."

He spun it around letting unravel around him and turn into a fleshy rotor blade of death. One of the wings latched on to her leg and threw her into one of the pillars. Then with a sweeping gesture of his arm, one of the wings impaled her to the wall as she started falling. Her agonized scream echoed throughout the waterway.

"That's it." He encouraged wrapping one wing around her arm and crushing it. She screamed more. "Scream louder! Make sure Marcus can hear you!"

"Touka!" Hinami cried worriedly, taking a few steps forward.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you." He laughed maniacally. Two of Fueguchi's wings lashed out to wrap around the little girl. One grabbed her legs, the other went around her arms and chest. He lifted her up and held her beside her fellow.

Once she adjusted to the pain, The violet haired ghoul asked, gritting her teeth. "What does Marcus have to with this?"

Kureo then started laughing. Full on evil overlord style. "He has everything to do with this. He's the whole reason I'm doing this!"

"What?" She asked disbelievingly.

"I have been waiting for years to get the chance to kill him and get him away from my daughter but he was too careful. I kept an eye on him, waiting for him to slip up. He never did. I knew I had to force his hand. I saw how he acts around you, he likes you, then Mrs. Fueguchi and her daughter step and interact with you. You were like family. It was the perfect line up. The Fueguchis were on our watch list, so I could hunt them freely and the twentieth ward was having issues with the Binge Eater, giving me an excuse to be here. All I had to do was agitate you, get you to act out in vengeance and he would to the rescue like a knight in shining armor." He stopped and thought about it before correcting himself. "Black armor."

Touka asked. "If you knew me, then why didn't you kill me at your headquarters?"

He just shrugged. "I'll admit I'm old. The whole look you two had thrown me off enough and the anticipation of getting you caught as imposters made me overlook some details. I didn't piece it together till much later."

She shook her head. "Why all this? He's not corrupting her, he loves her. Akira's his mom."

His face broke from his usual mad gleeful expression and contorted in rage. "Ghoul lies! He is a bad influence on her! He's feeding her lies and false ideas of ghouls being like humans! You're not! You're hyenas gnawing on dead flesh! You're trash. Why is it that your kind insists on living off of the sins you commit on others?"

"'Cause we want to live." She replied through gasp of pain as she tried to lift herself up some and lessen the pain. "What's wrong with that? We may be different but we were still given life. Given a chance. If we can only eat human to survive then that's we'll do. How else are we supposed to live? Tell me! You guys think you're so much better than us but could you say that if you were in our shoes. Just die, you asshole. All of you can die and go to hell! Ghouls want to live like you guys. _I_ want to live like you guys."

Touka's eye brimmed with tears as she confessed the one thing she had never confessed to anyone. She didn't know why she said it. Maybe she thought if he knew the real truth about ghouls, he might understand and let them go. Unfortunately, she couldn't get past the lifetime of racism towards ghouls and the bone-deep hatred Kureo has for them.

"Inane prattle of a bug trying to save its own hide." He scoffed. Crouching to pick up Fueguchi one. It twitched to life, slowly untangling itself from the pillars and moving towards the teenager. His manic grin slithered back onto his face. "Marcus likes you. So there has to be a physical quality about you that he likes most. Natural hair color like yours is particularly rare. It was introduced by scientists close to two decades ago to see how a new gene could spread in the population. Today only one every two million people have it."

The curved blade like barb at the end of Fueguchi one brushed a few strands of her hair. The edge was sharp enough to cut them. Then it lowered down to her exposed eye and hovered half an inch away. Her pupils dilated to pinpoints in fear. "You also the unique eye color gene, too, how lucky. Maybe he actually is that romantic that he pretends to be and likes your eyes. Or, it's all an act and he is the beast that resides within and appreciates you only for your body."

The tip of the weapon traveled down and caressed the side of her breast, brushing her stomach and tracing the inside of her thigh before lifting up in front of her. Touka's skin crawled at the sensation as she felt sick from this foul action. She snarled "I'm gonna kill you."

He ignored her. "Since it's clear he's not going to be here anytime soon, I say we leave him a message and we'll carve it on your flesh. He'll be so enraged he won't be able to think properly and he'll charge into the office where dozens of investigators will take him down."

Fueguchi two grabbed her intact arm and held while Fueguchi One came down and tore the sleeve of her shirt. Then it slowly started carving into her arm. She screamed in pain and fear. There was no dignity behind it, no defiance. Just the cry of an animal who can do nothing but scream in response to what's being done to her. It hurt so much she was crying. She thrashed wildly, instinctively, not even thinking anymore. Just reacting. It hurt so much. Hinami wailed and cried, begging for him to stop, saying anything that might end the torture. Kureo ignored it all and laughed.

Then a voice louder than all the others, ringing with rage and the desire for vengeance cried out. "KUUREEEOOOO!"

* * *

Kaneki attacked with his weaker, frail version of Rize's Kagune made of only two tentacles. Amon swiped at them with his Quinque, breaking a foot off of each tentacle. Then he brought his weapon back around and batted the half-breed off to the side. He rolled and tumbled before slamming into the railing that separated the man-made stream and the pathway. The investigator has been passing the college student a beat down. He was no match even with his Kagune. How could he be with that pathetic thing? He wasn't trying to win, though. Just keep this guy busy for as long as possible until either Marcus or Touka finished up with the other guy and come this way. No problem.

"Mask wearing demons." Amon snarled to himself then addressed the ghoul. "There's a question I've been meaning to ask your kind. Killing innocent people, feeding on them as you desire. Many children have lost their parents at your hands. The sadness, the loneliness, the emptiness of those left behind. Have you ever imagined what it's like?"

'Why is he telling me this?' Wondered Kaneki.

"There's a ghoul know as Rabbit. She killed one of my colleagues just yesterday." The investigator's grip tightened on his Quinque till his knuckles whitened and anger hardened his voice. "Why was he killed? Because he was an investigator? Because he was human? Why?! What possible reason was there for him to be killed?! This world is wrong! And it's you monsters who are screwing it up!"

Kaneki stiffened at that. He couldn't blame the guy for feeling angry about his colleague's death. That investigator that Touka killed. The people who are killed and eaten by other ghouls. Ghouls have brought a lot of pain and sorrow to people. Just like he said. Ghouls are distorting this world. He had a point and the half-breed couldn't argue with that. But. What about Ryouko? Wasn't the way she died just as wrong? She hadn't harmed a soul, probably not even a fly? She was murdered just for her relation to her husband who killed to feed his family. And Hinami. Her parents were taken away just like those human kids. Is there any difference? Ghouls have feelings too, just like humans. It should mean something. Doesn't that mean something? Can the investigator even see that? Or can it be that he can't see past the fact they're different?

 _Wait… what if only I can?_ _What if the only one who can understand both sides, is someone who can stay impartial? What if that person is me? Someone who's both human and ghoul?_

Just like Marcus had said. They had a different view on the relations between ghouls and humans. Marcus could see it because he belonged to neither world with the way his is and had an objective view. Kaneki saw it because he has personal experience on both sides. He could understand the feelings of both ghouls and humans. Maybe even better than Marcus. He had to show Amon this. But how? He remembered the woman at the ward office, how she seemed like she was indoctrinated. Most likely the dark haired investigator was too. So, how? Investigators are trained to look at the evidence and make inferences of that. If the ghoul presented evidence, then he might listen. Of course, he had to get the guy to listen first.

"You are exactly right," Kaneki said. "Many ghouls have gone astray. The ghoul you call Rabbit is probably one of them. I understand what you are saying but to be convinced someone is wrong without truly knowing all the facts. That can't be right. You have to understand who you are judging."

"What are you saying?" Replied Amon. "I don't understand."

The half-breed brought himself to his feet, eye shining with determination. "Then I'll make you understand." 'Because I'm the only one who can.'

"Understand what?" The investigator snapped.

Suddenly, Kaneki shot forward. Amon raised his Quinque instinctively to block, which the half-breed counted on. He grabbed onto the club like weapon and started shoving for all he's worth. The investigator's boot started sliding on the concrete and he was being pushed back. The college student had no idea where this strength was coming from, neither did the human. For the first time in this fight, Eyepatch actually seemed like a ghoul. The taller male tried pushing back but couldn't stop till he had put his full body into it. By that time they had moved fifteen feet and his back heel was within an inch of the wall to the waterway.

"You had asked why your colleague died, right?" Kaneki asked.

Amon looked at the ghoul oddly and replied hesitantly. "Yeah."

"Then let me tell you about the innocent woman you murdered two days ago at five fifty-three in the evening." The half-breed stated.

"Innocent? None of your kind is innocent." The investigator snarled. Using his larger size and body weight he shoved back the ghoul and swung his oversized Quinque. "Why should I believe anything you say?"

The younger male ducked beneath the man-made Kagune then grabbed it from behind bringing the two combatants side by side. This newfound determination and strength were sudden and foreign to him. Maybe he was so focused on showing his enemy the truth that he gained strength from it. "None of us are innocent? How do you know that? Were you told it or do you just think that?"

The righteous investigator surprised himself when he hesitated. "I know it. I witnessed the true nature of ghouls when I was a child. Since then all I've seen from ghouls is the harm and despair they bring. You kind is evil!"

"When Al Qaeda ran those planes into the Twin Towers, they killed close to three thousand people. Does that make every Iraqi person murderers, too?" The half-breed was suddenly glad he took that World History class in high school.

The investigator gritted his teeth answering through them. "No."

The high school nodded and continued. "Two days ago. Five fifty-three pm. Her name was Ryouko Fueguchi. Wife and mother. In her entire life, the number of people she killed is zero."

"If she told you that and you believed it, then you're naïve. If you're not lying" The older male countered.

The teenager squinted his eyes in scrutiny. "You fought her. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that she's capable of killing someone?"

Amon slammed his head into Kaneki's making him stumble back in pain and confusion. The investigator only was stunned for a second, having trained to recover faster from a head butt. He raised his Quinque over his head and brought it down on the half-breed. He was only stunned for a couple seconds longer. Ghoul toughness. He sidestepped the lethal blow. It slammed into the ground with earth shattering force. The ghoul planted a foot on the spot where the large weight made of Quinque material met the plain steel shaft. He grabbed the human by the collar and pulled him down forcibly, pressing their foreheads together. Giving the tall human no choice but to look his opponent in the eye.

"Tell me," Kaneki demanded.

For a second, for one second. The message got through. A flicker of doubt went through Amon as he really thought about it. Ryouko did not seem like a killer. She didn't have the guts. He remembered this one point in his fight against where he misjudged a swing and it left his back open to her. She had the chance to kill him, to take her Kagune and stab him in the back, to tear him in half, to break his spine in a thousand places. She could've used any method to kill him and she just knocked him back a few feet. From that point of logic, he followed the path. If she wasn't willing to kill and the daughter was able to. Then how did they feed? That job was left to the father. Ask any husband and father. Would they kill to feed and protect their family? The answer, ninety-nine percent of the time, would be yes. In that moment of doubt, the line between human and ghoul blurred.

Kaneki saw this and started pressing that advantage. "The daughter had her mother killed three months after her father died. Rabbit was a friend to them. Between seeing innocent people murdered and the agony it brought on the daughter. She got angry and wanted revenge. Like you and like you, she didn't look at who she was taking out her vengeance on. Did she kill an innocent person? Yeah, but so did you."

Amon's shoulders slumped as the full realization of what he did hit him. He hated ghouls primarily because of the kids they orphaned, which came from his own experience as an orphan. With this new view, how was he supposed to hate ghouls for the same thing he has done. Flashes of all the ghouls he had killed came to his mind. He wondered how many were people looking to feed their families, how many were just trying to live with what life had given them. Then that thought stirred another. How many of those ghouls gave the people they killed a second thought let alone a first. How many just killed without a care for who they were hurting. He thought back to that bloody altar he saw before. That moment of weakness was gone.

"You know, in battle, you're not supposed to talk this much." Amon snarled.

Kaneki saw that the investigator was no longer frozen by doubt and started to move away but then human said. "This is how you use your mouth in a fight."

Amon's head snapped forward and he latched onto one of the bolts of Kaneki's mask with his teeth. Unable to get away, the half-breed couldn't do anything to stop the investigator from inverting his grip on his Quinque, tilting it forward and thus throwing the ghoul off balance. Once he was sure his opponent was unbalanced enough. The investigator let off the bolt and shoved the college student with his anti-ghoul weapon. He then adjusted his grip on the weapon again and swung it like a golf club, striking the teenager in the side and sending flying away. The dark haired ghoul landed several feet from the investigator, gasping for air and suffering at least one broken rib, maybe two. He was left gasping for air.

"Save your prattle for someone who actually cares." Stated Amon.

Kaneki got himself to his knees and watched the investigator. He almost got the guy to believe him for one second. Perhaps the reason he snapped back, was that he wasn't willing to accept anything else but what he's known all his life. At least in the subconscious level. Though he started doubting and that might be all that's needed. Maybe that seed of doubt could grow into a curiosity to know the truth and he might be more willing to accept the idea then. Which was fine and dandy but now the half-breed needed to get out of this situation. He only saw one way to do that and that was with his Kagune. Not the pathetic one he's been using, but the one he used against Nishiki. Rize's Kagune.

 _I'm scared I might lose control ._

He charged forth.

 _That I might hurt him more than I might have to but…_

Amon flinched as Kaneki leapt into the air.

 _At least while I'm fighting,_

He unzipped the zipper that ran between the teeth on his mask that coincidentally ran over his mouth.

 _I need to embrace the ghoul inside me._

As he descended down upon the investigator, he opened his mouth wide.

 _Rize!_

Then Kaneki bit down on Amon's shoulder, the opening in the mask wide enough to bite unobtrusively. Then he tore a chunk of flesh off taking some of the clothing that was in the way with it. The investigator growled in pain and threw the ghoul off. The half-breed rolled and tumbled before stopping in his feet in a crouch. The swallowed the flesh in his mouth, clothes and all. Ghouls may not have been able to enjoy the same pleasures as humans can but in that place was the taste of human flesh. He could feel the hunger start trying to consume him as he stood. He held his right hand out as three of Rize's quality of Rinkaku tentacles formed following the direction of the outstretched hand. As though they were directed by it. He could now understand why ghouls like Rize existed, having felt the pleasure of tasting human flesh. But he refused to lose sight of who he was.

Kaneki jumped into the air, his fully developed Kagune gathered loosely around his arm. Amon yelled out a battle cry and swung with his Quinque. The half-breed attacked aiming straight for the weapon made from ghouls. The tentacles pierced the weighted of the Quinque, tore it to pieces and chunks scattered everywhere. He landed behind the investigator with grace. The investigator blinked in surprise at the new and surprising strength the ghoul was displaying. He was screwed without his Quinque. A gash opened up in the opposite shoulder of the bite wound, blood staining his coast. He dropped to his knees, pressing a hand against his wound trying to slow the bleeding.

"Seems I've woken up a hungry lion." He mumbled. "I'm sorry, Harima. I couldn't-"

"Run." Kaneki's strained voice interrupted. He held his right keeping it down. Like it had its own will. "Please. Run. Before I kill you."

"I'll never turn my back on a ghoul!" The investigator shot back defiantly.

"Go! Please!" The ghoul shouted. He looked at the human with desperation, fear, and sadness. "Don't make me a murderer."

* * *

Marcus sped down the waterway as he seemingly flew with a hundred foot long jump, closing the distance. His Spartan battle cry echoing off the walls, the water splashing behind him in a massive, wing-like wake. He cocked his fist back and threw an uncharacteristic full-bodied punch. Kureo grinned as he brought around Fueguchi One to defend himself from the guaranteed to be an overly lethal strike. The enraged Kakuja's fist collided into one of the segments. It fragmented beneath the force of the blow, slivers and shards flew off and the water beneath was disturbed by a shock wave that was created from how strong the blow was. The old man threw the Brit back with his Quinque. Who tumbled in the air before twisting lithely like cat and landing on his feet.

Kureo chuckled and faced his enemy fully. "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up."

"Well, I'm here now. Let them go!" Demanded Marcus. He didn't have the time to change out of his hunting attire. So, his mask combined with his glare gave him a terrifying look.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I can't do that." The investigator said gravely. He twisted the handle to his Fueguchi Two sharply and a crackling sound came from it as it solidified into a hard stone like substance. When he let go of the handle it didn't go limp or move, just shift slightly from the unsupported weight.

Touka and Hinami struggled against their bonds but no more luck than the when the Quinque was flesh. Marcus snarled. "What the bloody hell?!"

"Incentive." The elder Mado responded spreading his arms out like it should be obvious. "There is a timer on it. In fifteen minutes, it'll come back to life and start attacking randomly, targeting things it's in contact first."

The Brit looked at the violet haired girl worriedly who looked back with the same expression but with a hint a fear then she looked at Hinami and the emotions on her face doubled in intensity. Marcus bowed his head in defeat then stood. "What do you want?"

"To fight me," Kureo stated. "In my chest, I have a heart monitor and it's synced with the Quinque. My heart stops within the next fifteen minutes the lock releases and it lets the girls go. No harm done. Otherwise, well you know."

The Kakuja snarled like an animal. "Why should I believe you?"

The old man laughed. "I may be tricksy, but I am a man of my word. After all, it's why we're here."

The teenager sighed, looked up at Touka. He asked tenderly. "Will you be alright up there?"

"Yeah, I'll just chill and hang here." She tried for some levity but she winced in pain and the still damp tears subtracted from the image. Seeing the usually tough and strong girl in such a weak position angered the Brit even more. She saw that and chose to go the direct route. "We'll be fine. Just win."

Hinami nodded encouragingly. The Kakuja frowned and stared down the investigator. "Fine."

The Kakuja took a stance. He had his left leg out and bent slightly; the ball off his foot the only part that was touching the ground. His other foot was solidly beneath him and that leg was bent slightly too. His left arm was held out relaxed and bent at an obtuse angle at the elbow. His hand was open, palm facing out to the side. His right arm was elevated slightly, forearm brought around to point the palm of his open hand over the crook of his other arm. His back was straight but not ramrod, drill sergeant approved straight. More relaxed.

Touka blinked at this. She knew this stance. Not personally but she had a Netflix account and she watched Ip Man. That was Wing Chun. She wasn't entirely sure Marcus could win this. Kureo wasn't anything nice as she can attest to. She may have only faced off with two other investigators and that was years ago but she could tell. This old man was leagues above the younger guys she fought so long ago. However, there was that strength he had shown when he charged in. That punch was way stronger than the one that broke his arm and Yomo's arm and far as she could tell he suffered no damage. Had he been holding back? If he had then he has a lot more strength than he lets on. Maybe if he used that then he won't lose.

Kureo chuckled. This was going exactly according to plan. He knew the brit would refuse to show his true form in front of his fellow ghouls. With his little gift from Chigyou, this fight was his. He activated the newest modification to Fueguchi One. The Quinque condensed and shrank, each segment thinned, getting smaller and smaller till it was two feet long. Then it stiffened going ramrod straight. Resulting in a two-foot long katar with a serrated edge of the outside with an inwardly curved point. He took a wide stance with his empty hand out and the transformed Quinque held close and pointed at his enemy.

Confusion flickered across Marcus' face. That modification was a completely ineffective thing in this fight. Kureo knew that the Kakuja was specializing in hand-to-hand, transforming the Quinque into that brought the fight into his realm. Then there was the tension. Fueguchi one didn't change its shape. It just tightened the muscles and collapsed in on itself. It was now like a spring attached to the strut on a car. Eventually, the strut will wear and break and the spring will-

'Oh, shit!'

Kureo stabbed forward the Quinque in a punching motion and pressed the release, and it shot out like a bullet from a gun. Extending at a rapid pace, moving at five times the speed it did before. Marcus tried redirecting it off to the side like he did before using a Wing Chun Technique but as soon his hand touched the speeding weapon, it decided to go with it. He was sent careening through the air, getting thrown back ten feet. The old man flicked his wrist and the weapon circled around with the same blinding speed, and as the Kakuja landed on his feet, it struck him across the shoulder. Flesh tore and a fountain of blood spewed out. The teen was sent flying back another five feet. Fueguchi one was brought back around to attack with a lunge. The brit brought his hands up and caught the barb between them. It pushed him back even further before yanking itself from his hands and twirling high and coming down on him. He rolled out of the way of the blow and it slammed into the way shattering the concrete beneath the water.

Kureo brought his hand back and Fueguchi returned to him, condensing into the katar form again. Seeing that if he stayed out of close combat range, he would lose, the dark haired ghoul kicked up to his feet and charged. Marcus rarely uses such aggressive tactics, usually being one to wear out his opponent with dodges and light punches before making the final blow. Like the predator he was. Which was why Wing Chun appealed to him. It redirected the enemy's attacks and let the user get in close to deal a bunch of light blows which eventually wore down the opponent. Also, the small, simple, and fast movements let him conserve stamina, pairing so well with his Ukaku based abilities. He may have had all the types but his strongest was his Ukaku. Hence it's massive size.

Marcus ran, wielding the same speed as when he came to stop Touka's torture. Kureo chuckled again, his grin never ending and released the Quinque again. However, this time he spun it in a wide horizontal twirling motion which when combined with the speed created from the built up tension made a Quinque blender of death. A Quinque blender of death that was pointed at the Kakuja. Showing a wisdom well beyond his years, the Brit slid to a stop, the ankle high water helping him to slow down. Even so, he stopped within a foot of the blender. Then the Elder Mado swung his Quinque in a circle over his head barely missing Touka and Hinami and struck the male ghoul across the chest carving a deep gash all the way across. He spiraled from the blow in a spray of blood.

"You're not doing all that well, are you?" Kureo mocked. "I would hurry up too. A minute has already passed."

Marcus got a hand under him, that one that belonged to his uninjured and shakily got himself to a hand and knees. He held the other one to the still bleeding wound on his shoulder. It was the deepest of his two lacerations and it may have severed the artery, he couldn't be sure. He did know that he lost some movement. Most likely tore up the trapezius. He should have known better than to think that it would be easy. Kureo is a slippery bastard and he wouldn't enter a fight that he couldn't win.

He looked up at the old man. There had to be a way around Fueguchi One. Then he heard it. A clanking sound as the Quinque retracted. The first time the Quinque transformed it did it all at once. Every time after that it did it segment by segment. One segment shrinking and collapsing before retracting to the handle, then the next one did it and when it thumped against the previous segment, a sound close to bones striking each other lightly. He watched the weapon mesmerizingly as it fully retracted to the katar form. As he did, a remembered something. He should have seen it before, especially considering how much of an anime buff he is.

"A revolver can be fired six times, a missile only once." Marcus quoted to himself, laughing. "I've got you, old man."

"What's that?" Kureo asked, frowning.

The Brit ignored him. Getting to his feet and drew upon more of his ghoul powers just enough to heal the trapezius muscle and sew back up the artery. He didn't completely heal the wound, left it open and bleeding. Just took care of the worst. Any more would take too long and too much RC cells. The old man grew wary, not liking the new confidence and surety the teen was carrying. From what the dark haired ghoul had seen; for every wind-up, his opponent had either five consecutive attacks or fifteen seconds of a single continuous attack. That's if he wanted to use the high-speed attacks. Otherwise, it's normal speed and normal Fueguchi one. That he can deal with.

Marcus settled into his Wing Chun stance and said with a wolfish grin hidden by his mask. "Let's dance."

Kureo lost his cool for a second, fearful that he had miscalculated somewhere in his plan, and he attacked first. Fueguchi One lashed in a lunge, it's speed seeming to be impossibly fast. In a bold decision, Marcus leaped diagonally to the left, the weapon speeding past. The Brit ran for the elder man in a full charge.

'One.'

The investigator continued to panic and swept the Quinque sideways towards the Kakuja, who dropped into a baseball player's slide in response. The demented and modified weapon passed overhead harmlessly.

'Two.'

The old but capable human circled the weapon around and brought it down vertically on the ghoul's head. He just calmly side stepped it and kept going.

'Three.'

The Quinque was brought around for another attempt to stab the abnormal ghoul. He jumped into the air using his full power like before. The centipede-like Quinque crashed into water and concrete.

'Four.'

The contested Mado came down upon his challenger, fist brought back and ready to go through the old man's head. The investigator panicked and instead of attack at his opponent while he was open and weak in mid-air, he brought back the CCG issued weapon to defend himself. Wasting the fifth attack.

'Five.'

By opting to defend, Kureo also brought the same, still damaged segment over his head. Marcus slammed his fist into the segment with the same strength that damaged and as expected it shattered, tearing Fueguchi One in half. The Brit didn't know what to expect on Kureo's face when he broke through. Surprise, fear, 'oh, shit,' but not a mad victorious grin. The old man threw the useless Quinque away, raised the free hand and caught the punch. Surprise registered on the Kakuja's face as there was no apparent damage done. The investigator threw his enemy to the ground face first. He twisted the teen's arm behind his back, grabbed his and shoved it into the disgusting water. The Kakuja struggled against the hold, trying to avoid drowning. He could vaguely hear Touka shout his name, but the splashing and the blood rushing in his ears covered it.

'How is he so strong?' he thought

Seeing no other way, Marcus jerked his body and dislocated the pinned shoulder. Just to note it hurt, but that barely registered against the burning in his lungs. Since the arm lock depends on the pinned person not wanting to do that, all Kureo had was a limp arm that couldn't be used as leverage. The teen brought his other arm behind him and slammed the back of his fist into the old man's face. He was knocked back several feet, releasing his grip in the process. The Kakuja pulled his head out of the water and gasped for fresh air. He just got his breath back when the investigator kicked him in the side, sending him across the waterway and into the wall.

Kureo charged as Marcus got to his feet, holding his dislocated arm, trying to relocate it. He threw a punch, ready to pound his nemesis into the wall till he was paste. Suddenly, the Kakuja leaned to the side and let the punch strike his limp limb. It popped back into place and the tables turned. He brought his arm up, placed his wrist under the investigator's and guided it over his head to the other side. Bringing him to the inside of his opponent's guard. He snapped out a burst of fast jabs to the chest. The elder Mado threw another punch only for it to be redirected to the side, bringing the ghoul to the outside who then delivered another burst to his side. Another punch was thrown by the disadvantaged human. The Wing Chun user grabbed it, then the front of his enemy's coat and shirt spun once, and threw him.

Tumbling in the air, Kureo fell into the man-made river. He stood, stumbling for second. The threw had torn his clothing and instead of revealing his toned and scarred chest. There was a ribcage-like object that stretched across. It was like bone and crimson.

He looked down at himself and sighed. "Guess the secret's out."

In a single movement, Kureo tore off his coat and suit tops. Attached to his body was a skeletal-like frame. It ran down his arms and disappeared under his gloves where it split into five digits that went across his hand and fingers. The bone like frame crawled over his shoulders and to his back into a spin that ran parallel to his own all the way down and up. The ribcage ran around him and connected to the spine. The frame ran down the sides of his legs, beneath his pants. It was the prototype to a Quinque exoskeleton. A Little bit too literally. It was how the old man had been matching Touka and Marcus blow for blow. It gave him the strength and speed of a ghoul but at a cost. It forced his body to move faster and stronger, over-stressing the body. It fractures his bones and tears his muscles. Eventually, he wouldn't be able to move and die. Though that was long term.

Marcus reentered his stance, he had a target now. That target was… His mind went blank for a second as he became dizzy. He swayed drunkenly and fell to his knees. He looked down to his chest and saw that the gash there had been bleeding profusely, coloring his entire front. Covering the now pale skin. In his rush to do the quick patch on his shoulder, he has forgotten about his chest injury. It may not have severed any arteries but enough veins had been cut that became enough of a problem in the long term. His heightened heart rate made the wound drip with blood like a waterfall. He had been careless and he was paying the price.

"How sloppy of you, Marcus!" Kureo laughed gleefully. "You've let yourself bleed out and now you can't fight. Even if you tried, you probably couldn't touch me, let alone land a punch. Which means, I won."

Marcus gritted his teeth as he realized that the investigator was right. 'I fucked up.'

"Although, if you released your Kagune, you might be able to heal yourself. Maybe even win." The old man suggested in fake thoughtfulness.

'So, that's your angle.' Kureo's plan from the get-go was to have Marcus get exposed in combat, and get killed. It would have been uncontested by Akira, she would've have been unhappy, yes, but she couldn't argue with it. That was the one condition to keeping the Kakuja secret. If Marcus fought openly as a ghoul then the elder Mado had the full ability to kill him, as he as an investigator and his duty was to the CCG. However, when it was discovered that he targeted the Fueguchis to get the Brit to act, Akira found room to disagree and push back. Destroying the relationship she had with her father. Leaving him nothing.

As a man with nothing left to lose. He planned accordingly. He wanted to discredit the adopted Mado which meant that he had to die. Plan "A" was to have Marcus kill him in cold blood, leaving Akira unable to love him. If that seemed unattainable, plan "B", was to discredit him in front of those he cared about and be reveal as Xeno. Making him into a monster in the eyes of the one person whose opinion mattered most: Touka. He would then leave, unable to face her fear and hate filled violet orbs. Getting him away from his daughter. The first one had no chance of working as the old investigator still failed to understand his daughter's love for the boy. The second one, though. It couldn't fail.

For a brief second, Marcus considered just doing nothing and bleeding out. A sort of 'Fuck you' to the old man. He would die, thus Touka and Hinami would die, leaving Kureo with nothing to show for it. Akira wouldn't believe anything he'd say at this point, so he would forever be hated by his daughter. It was only a second. He glanced over to the girls. Touka watched curiously with a tear stained face. She wanted to see his Kagune, wanted answers to a million questions. Hinami was still crying, terror and worry for him on her face. He couldn't do that to them. He couldn't arbitrarily decide their fate for petty vengeance. Something that the investigator was trying to do, something he couldn't let happen. He couldn't do it alone, he needed help.

'Xeno. I need your help' Marcus called and immediately got an answer.

Xeno chuckled as he awakened from his rest. ' **So. Am I finally allowed to take on the old man?** '

'You wouldn't win.' The British ghoul countered. 'You know that. Kureo has at least one more trick up his sleeve and he knows your tactics. Combine that with his wiles and that exoskeleton. He's more than a match for either of us, but not both of us.'

' **You're opening the cage? How bold.** '

The cage. Something Marcus has never told anyone about, not even Akira. Before he met his adopted mother, his connection with Xeno was much stronger. They weren't so divided. They thought similarly and agreed to most of everything. They had a synchronization about them that allowed them to tap into some of the inner ghoul powers. It was why they were exceptionally strong, besides their uniqueness. Only things holding them back was experience and age. A few months after the Brit started living with Akira, he had chosen to change the way he was going to be and separated himself from his alternate personality. He then locked it in a mental cage where it couldn't reconnect. Unfortunately, like any wild beast when it's locked up, it retaliates. The cage wears down. Letting Xeno hunt every two weeks is actually, Marcus swapping places with the predator, putting himself in the cage so he can be protected as he repairs it.

' **If you had done this sooner, then you would've been strong enough to kick his ass**.' Xeno grumbled.

Marcus scoffed mentally. 'At what price? I read 'Berserk'. Power comes at a price. I could end up like Guts. Unable to be with those I care because I'll have a demon influencing my actions and thoughts.'

' **You would risk that now? For her?** ' Clarified the alt

'Yes.'

' **Alright then, let's dance.** '

Marcus tore down the cage and let Xeno out.

In the real world, he hefted himself to feet slowly making sure not to make himself dizzy again. Kureo laughed at this. "Getting back up, are we? Will you take this fight seriously now and release your Kagune, or are you gonna cling to that dying dream of yours?"

"I've always wanted a life with being known as a monster, to be looked at with love, not fear. That was my dream." The Brit said sadly, vision blurring with tears. He didn't what to lose that dream but he had no choice. "I locked up my inner demon so that I could be loved and I was."

Then his eyes hardened with rage and vengeance and his wounds started healing. Closing nearly instantly. He skin starting regaining its composure. All his Kagune slowly crawled out of his back as did the black ooze that formed the chitin-like skin of his Kakuja form. It didn't transform him yet just started fanning out in black tendrils behind him like his Kagune.

"Now, you threaten to destroy that life and those I love. So, I letting my demon out to play and we're coming after you." He snarled.

All three people who witnessed this had shock spread across their faces as some the tendrils came together and formed a shape. A face. It was Xeno's face after he had transformed. With the carapace covering his eyes and forehead. He had an open mouth grin that showed his sharp fangs, and it rivaled Kureo's. Between the way it's face hovered over Marcus' head, the arm like Koukaku and the tendrils of black ooze. It seemed like there was a demon hovering over him. Touka's eyes widened in horror recognized the Kakuja for who he was. She had never seen him personally before but she had heard more than her fair share of stories. Most of them were from Uta. In the end, She knew it when she saw it. Marcus was the No Eyed Demon of the fourth ward.

Betrayal washed over her. 'He didn't tell me.'

Suddenly Marcus just vanished. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. Even for Touka's acute ghoul eyesight, she could only see him for a second and even then he was just a blur. Kureo looked around warily. The Kakuja never moved that fast. The hair on the back of his neck rose and his gut told him to move. One to follow his gut, he dove to the side just as the Kakuja came down from above, his leg slamming down like the blade of a guillotine in an ax kick. The old man turned the dove into a roll and came up facing his opponent.

Xeno had changed. The carapace that covered the top part of his head had changed. It melded smoothly with the mask making it seem like once piece. The only way to tell where chitin ended and ivory began was the color. It no longer covered his head as a single smooth piece, now the only smooth portion was over his eyes and forehead then it made a sharp transition into a ridged pattern that extended past his head at an upward angle for a couple of inches and ended in a point. From underneath the main carapace ridged bone plates came down the back of his head and flowed into a spinal column where the most drastic changes were connected.

His Ukaku was now a single pair of large wings that was folded up against his back. He no longer had two thin quick tails but one thicker and stronger tail. Curling around from the spine to his chest was a single piece of armor shaped like a rib cage. The chitin hide crawled over his arms and legs like before but with changes. His legs were now digitigrade like a wolf's and on his shoulders were sets of three spikes placed horizontal and evenly spaced where each deltoid muscle would be. On his forearms and forelegs was boney plate armor and the talons weren't long and cumbersome but shorter, nimbler and dexterous.

The changes weren't just on the surface, it was also in the mind. They now thought and felt the same way. It was no longer that one was Xeno, one was not. They are Xeno together. They were no longer a street rat, scavenging in the streets, scrabbling to live. They were no longer some recently domesticated dog, leeching off their owner. They were wild, they were mighty, they were proud. They were what Uta had thought they were. They were, no, are the wolf. They are the one who fights for and protects the pack. Goddammit, that's what they were going to do. They weren't a drone anymore, they were a warrior.

Kureo exclaimed. "H-how?"

When Xeno spoke, it had an echo to it like two people were speaking simultaneously. He said coldly. " _ **Because fuck you, that's how.**_

In an instant, Xeno closed the distance and brought his hand forward and slammed his palm into Kureo's face. The force of his leap towards the man carried, through and he shoved the investigator to the ground while him pushing him back. He was dragged through the water which splashed behind them in a huge wake. The old man planted a foot against the chest of the Kakuja and brought his hands behind his head and dug his reinforced fingers into the concrete. He stopped suddenly and used his foot and inertia to throw off the evolved ghoul. As his opponent flew overhead and away, he kicked up to his feet and faced the ghoul. Who had twisted lithely in the air and landed on all fours. Then for no particular reason the demented investigator's shoulder spurted out blood and the exoskeleton severed where the wound was

Xeno rose. He no longer stood in that hunched over raptor-like stance with his arms close to his chest, but straighter with his arms held out. Though his shoulders were still hunched slightly. His tail curled around in front of him and Kureo's blood dripped from the barb. " _ **You're too slow, old man. Keep going like this and you'll lose.**_ "

"Don't get cocky, maggot!" Kureo growled angrily and with a quick flick of his forearms, fifteen-inch blades extended from the exoskeleton, jutting straight out over his hand.

The enhanced investigator charged forth with a battle cry, winding up for a lunge. Xeno waited patiently till Kureo attacked. The stab was guided to the side like the punches that were thrown earlier and leaving him open to another quick burst of punches to the chest. He was shoved back several inches from the force of the blow and if it hadn't been for exoskeleton made from Koukaku type Quinque steel his chest would've caved in. Another attempt to stab was thrown and deflected but this time the tail came in for the counter attack. It was parried by the other blade. That blade came out of the parry into a downward slash meant to dismember his opponent's arm. The Kakuja grabbed onto it and pulled it down as he brought up his knee into the elbow breaking it. Then he took the same leg and kicked at the investigator who caught it with both arms; his exoskeleton making his broken arm move, and he threw him across the waterway, into and through a pillar then slamming into the wall. The shattering of the concrete created an obscuring dust cloud.

"You may have a new look but it seems to be doing diddly squat!" Kureo mocked.

Only to eat his own words as Xeno stepped out of the dust with nary a scratch. He tilted his head from side to side and aa series of loud pops could be heard. He looked at the old man, his smirk barely visible between the teeth of his mask, and said, " _ **Looks like I'm gonna have to invest a little more into this fight.**_ "

Kureo spread his lips in a mad grin and cried out gleefully, "Then bring it on!"

Xeno then leapt back into the still lingering dust cloud, flipping backward so he can brace his feet against the wall and bounce off it towards his enemy. The cloud parted with all the dramatic flair that it needs. He came out, hands reaching out like a wolf that came down on his prey. He took a swipe with his talons at Kureo who deflected with a flick of a blade. He turned the swipe into a spin that brought him behind the human and facing him while bringing his tail around to lash out while landing in a single simultaneous motion. However, the old man had followed his movements and parried the tail, who then tried to stab the Kakuja again. The attack was countered with another Wing Chun deflect and grouping of quick jabs to the chest.

Kureo lifted both arms and brought the blades down upon the British ghoul. Only to miss when his target flipped backward, catching a foot against his chin. He stumbled back stunned for a sec. Xeno flipped back several more times before jumping into the air. The old man came out of his daze just in time to see the Kakuja start spinning in the air like a top. His Ukaku creating a look of a black and red tornado. Suddenly, three foot long Ukaku spikes started shooting out towards the investigator who wasn't in the mood to be impaled. He hopped backward avoiding the spikes. Then to his and Touka's surprise, even Xeno's surprise, they exploded on contact. They weren't grandiose, about the size of an explosion from a cherry bomb. Using his enhanced senses to keep track of the old man and where he went he laid down suppressing fire.

As he felt himself descending, Xeno stopped firing Ukaku crystals and landed on the ground in a crouch. A lot of new changes to plan around. A faster speed boost, stronger chitin armor, and now explosive crystals. He had a theory about the crystals, though. As he was taking a moment to concentrate, to think about what he wanted and will on to his Ukaku, Kureo came charging towards him, swords ready to skewer the ghoul. All for naught as said ghoul leapt into the air and over the investigator. His Ukaku fully crystallized, the large spikes giving the impression of feathers. He reached an arm across himself and grabbed a few of the spikes of the opposite wing; One between each finger and threw them in a group. Then he grabbed a few more off of the other wing with his other hand and threw them. Six shards in total he threw and the all impaled the ground around the old man in a perfect five-foot diameter circle. A second passed for people to realize that they didn't explode on contact before they all blew in one simultaneous detonation.

The explosion parted the water and shattered the concrete in a wide crater, throwing up a dust cloud. Xeno landed several meters away from ground zero on all fours, poised to pounce like a cat in any direction, his Ukaku reverting to the standard. As expected Kureo came charging out of the cloud, calling out Marcus' name in blind insane rage. His body was battered, bruised, broken and bleeding. More than a dozen wounds, and certainly a more than equal amount of bones broken but the exoskeleton kept him going. He came at the Kakuja with a berserker's rage, swinging one of his blades wildly. It deflected again but this time the counter attack was a solid boxer's jab to the chest. He was thrown back several feet. A deep crackling sound attracted the ghoul to Fueguchi Two, as it seemed to soften and list slightly for a second before solidifying for a second.

With a new understanding of the situation, Xeno turned his attention back to Kureo who charged forth again. He met the charge with his own. The old man brought his arms overhead and brought the blades down in a heavy blow. It was countered when Xeno lifted his arms in a v shape and the blades struck the natural armor on his forearms. Then they were shoved outwards when the ghoul spread his arms suddenly. Exposing the investigator's chest to a pair of heavy jabs. The ribcage of the exoskeleton cracked under the force and the Quinque softened slightly again for a couple seconds longer than last time. The investigator brought a blade around to be impaled in the Kakuja's skull. Only to miss the mark when the target hopped to the side out of the way, who then turn the hop into a spin that brought the Rinkaku around to strike at the ribcage. The barb severed a rib and carved a furrow into the investigator with a splash of blood.

Seeing that the Quinque was unaffected by that attack, the Kakuja knew what to do. Kureo came around and attacked with a wild haymaker propelling his blade. Having the perfect opportunity, Xeno countered with the move he had copied off of one of his favorite animes and only ever used once. On Yomo. He reached and pulled the investigator off balance, stepped forward and simultaneously swept the human's legs out from under while shoving him back and down to the ground. The old man splashed into the water while the trip was followed up with a fist to the chest. The ribcage cracked more as the ghoul grabbed onto it and promptly tore it off.

A trail of blood followed it as the heart monitor that was in the form of a one-inch spike and was attached to the ribcage of the exoskeleton, left where it was pierced into his chest. For good fucking measure, Xeno tore off the heart monitor with his other hand and crushed it. As it had been programmed, when it no longer detected a heart beat Fueguchi Two became it's usual flesh like self and with no one at the control handle it went limp freeing the female ghouls. Touka winced in expectation of the pain to come as she fell. Fueguchi two's wing was stabbed through her stomach her and it Instead of falling into ice cold water and the hard concrete, she fell into Xeno's arms. He caught her bridal style while Hinami fell into his outstretched wings where she slid to the ground harmlessly. He crouched and set down the violet haired girl's legs in the water. She shoved at his chest and wriggled out of his arms. Meeting no resistance from the Kakuja, she fell to the water harshly, aggravating her injury and causing her to gasp in pain.

As he moved to help, he was stopped when Touka snarled. "Get away from me!"

He rocked back as though physically struck by her words. " _ **I… I'm so**_ -"

"Shut up." She snapped in response, glaring at him with betrayal and fury. "I don't want to hear it. I don't even want to see you."

He stayed frozen for a second. She could see his mouth open in shock and sadness through the teeth of his mask. Then he nodded, stood and walked around her towards Kureo. Hinami ran over crying out. "Touka! Are you all right?"

The high school girl wrapped a protective and comforting arm around the girl who knelt beside her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Gonna need some help with getting this out. The wing's stopping the bleeding but without it, I'll gush out like a waterfall." She gestured to Fueguchi Two's wing still impaled inside her.

"We'll get some help." The little girl said assuredly then lost her positivity as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. If I hadn't run away this wouldn't have happened."

The older girl ran her hand through the adolescent's hair. "Nah. This fight was going to happen anyway. Just happened a little sooner than planned, that's all."

Hinami buried her face into Touka's shoulders as she burst out into tears. All the emotions she's been feeling the past few days flooding out. The teenager did her best to comfort the young ghoul. "It'll be okay. It's over."

Her attention was drawn to Xeno as he stepped beside Kureo, his Ukaku was wrapped around him, making it look like he had a long cloak hanging off his shoulders. The old man looked up at him and asked. "So, are you going to kill me?"

The Kakuja turned his head to the side as though he was looking off into empty space as he thought. He faced Kureo again and said. " _ **No.**_ "

Touka's eyes widened in shock as did the investigator, who coughed out. "What?"

" _ **When I first put this plan together, I was acting on the rage I felt after learning what you had done to drag me out. I wanted you dead, to pay for your sins.**_ " He explained without a thoughtful tone. He chuckled. " _ **Looking at you now. I see that you're not worth it. You are just an old man who was blinded from the truth by his own racist hatred.**_ _**Killing you would only make you right. Besides, a more harsher punishment would be for you to live and suffer the hatred from your own daughter.**_ "

Xeno turned and started walking down deeper into the underground waterway. Kureo gritted his teeth angrily. How can that savage speak so highly? He was a lowly maggot! He had to get his revenge. He couldn't let a ghoul take his daughter after one took his wife. He had to have his revenge on him. On that one-eyed bastard.

Touka barely saw the old man climb to his feet and leap at Xeno. "Marcus!"

The Kakuja turned sharply and saw the investigator lunged with his blade aiming for his spine through his throat all the while crying out. "I'll have vengeance!"

Ghouls have heightened healing abilities, true, but the more delicate the area injured the harder it is to heal. The spinal column and the nervous system attached to it is as delicate as you can get. Any number of places can induce paralysis of many forms, the right place can kill. Assuming one survived, healing that kind of injury takes time and patience. An average ghoul would be laid up for a year before they can even think about rehabilitation. Marcus might take a little more than half that but that was six months heal and at least an equal amount of time for rehab. Minimum. The Kakuja couldn't block it or deflect it, or anything. He had been caught up in his own brooding and couldn't react properly. He was still at the 'Oh, shit!' stage.

Kureo had him dead to rights.

* * *

Amon shuffled along, far away from Kaneki. He had run like he was asked to. Though, he couldn't get why he was given that chance. He was an investigator, the ghoul's enemy. Why let him go? Why was he crying? The whole thing didn't make sense. What was with all that bravado? Why had he been told all those things? Just what was the half-breed trying to tell him? And what did he mean by 'Make you understand'. There were so many questions for the ghoul and himself. He shook his head to disperse those thoughts. It was all just ghoul gibberish. He could pick at it later. Right now, he had to get to his partner. Something in his gut was telling him that something was wrong. He shuffled along down the path to the underground waterway.

Back at the scene of the fight, Kaneki was at war with himself. He could feel the ghoul instincts clawing at his mind. He tried pushing it back down and retracting his Kagune but had no avail. "My kagune won't retract."

His grip on sanity slipped for a second. His voice became harsher. "I know! I'll someone and eat them."

"No! What am I saying?!" He cried, regaining his loose hold on sanity. He grabbed his hair, pulling at it, and dropped to his knees pressing his forehead against the ground. He wept in despair. "Please. Someone. Help me. If I'm not stopped…"

A pair of boots thudded as walked towards him, stopping a few meters away. He was a tall man with a hooded trench coat, the hood was pulled up. He had on a black hawkish mask like those of the plague doctors. His distorted voice said. "I've been watching you."

The presence of another person, the presence of food pushed Kaneki over the edge. He sat up pulling his mask down, it would only get in the way. He leaned his head back to look at the man with a hungry smile. He purred. "Hey, you. Nice timing. I was getting hungry."

Kaneki suddenly sped over, his Rinkaku tails winding around each other tightly like a rope. Making them sturdier as one than each was on their own. They went right through the stranger's abdomen, who didn't cry out in pain or even flinch. Just let it go right through him.

"I think I know why Mr. Yoshimura has taken an interest in you, now. I too would like to see what you can accomplish." The stranger said calmly, placing a hand on the wound Rinkakus. He took off his mask and revealed himself to be Yomo who said softly. "Come home, Ken."

"Y-yomo?" Kaneki stammered in horror as he slowly came back to his senses. "No. What have I done?"

Yomo as calm as ever pulled one of Anteiku's signature meat packages. "Eat. You'll feel better."

Kaneki took the package, letting Kagune and Kakugan fade. The behind-the-scenes employee of Anteiku nonchalantly held his guts in as his wound healed. The half-breed opened the manila package and ate the flesh inside. He couldn't help but notice how easy it was for him to do it.

* * *

Xeno stumbled back as blooded splattered across his face and chest. He slipped a hand through the fold of his cloak and wiped a couple of fingers through it. He looked at it oddly. It wasn't his. It was human. Kureo stood from where he had fallen to the ground. He raised his right arm, the one he tried to blade on it to stab the Kakuja with. Not only was the blade gone but his entire hand was not there. Just a bleeding stump. Which was why he had fallen because he didn't make contact with his target so he couldn't stop his jump and fell. Touka's eyes widened in shock as what looked to be Fueguchi one hovered in the air. For a second she thought that it was somehow back in play again but she noticed that it had the healthy paler when Asaki had it still. So she traced the long tail back from the barb, down the body, and to the little girl in her arms. Extending out from Hinami's back was her Kagune. It was made up of both her father's kagune and mother's kagune. She had the top two wings of Ryouko's Koukaku and she had a pair of Asaki's Rinkaku. One's barb was dripping with blood.

Hinami stood and took a few steps away from Touka prompting a response from her. "Hina?"

The young ghoul ignored her, sniffling as she tried to wipe away the tears, covering her eyes simultaneously. She didn't get anywhere as the tears kept flowing, so she just let them go. Thus revealing the Kakugans the were covering her hazel eyes. She managed to choke out past her sniffling. "Please. Stop. Don't hurt them anymore. Don't do to them what you did to Mom and Dad!"

Her sudden outburst launched her Rinkakus into action. The twin tails lashed out with terrifying speed, twice that of what Fueguchi One had normally. It was wild and random, just lashing out at everything in front of her. It tore and shredded at the water and concrete, liquid and solid flying everywhere. When they come at Kureo, Xeno had to dodge with the old man to avoid being shredded himself. They were acting on the rage and hatred and despair deep within Hinami's mind and moving as if they had a mind of their own. She had no training or experience on how to control this. Right now she was a loose cannon or run away train that destroys everything in their path with no self-control. That was the nature of the first time use of a ghoul's Kagune, though. He definitely didn't want to be in the path of that.

Kureo laughed maniacally. "How amazing! This is incredible! You've only inherited the best qualities of both your mother's and father's Kagunes. A chimera! Truly exceptional. I want it!"

He dashed towards Hinami with full intent to kill. As the old investigator closed the distance, the young ghoul brought her arms up and around her in a feeble attempt to protect herself. Her Koukakus managed to do a much better job than her arms could've. One wing folded in front of her as the human attacked with his remaining blade. The Rinkaku based Quinque steel pierced the toughened Kagune flesh with ease but did not get anywhere near the girl. The wing flexed and threw the old man away but before he could get too far, one of her Rinkakus reached out and grabbed him about the waist, slammed him into a pillar before throwing him down to the ground. He coughed up blood as veins ruptured in his lungs from the trauma. He didn't get the chance to recover as he was tossed in the air and while he was in free fall, a tail came around and took his leg. He cried out in pain while wearing that signature grin of his.

Both Touka and Xeno were in awe as the elder Mado fell to the ground. The whole thing had happened so fast, neither of them had any time to respond or react. The Kakuja bowed his head acceptingly. He hadn't wanted it to end like this but now he didn't have a choice. Between the wounds from the explosive Ukaku shards and the loss of both an arm and a leg, the old man's blood loss is too great and he would bleed out before anyone can help him. If he wasn't dead already. Accepting the way things had gone, which followed the original plan, the Brit turned to complete it.

Then the sound of water being disturbed stopped him; he turned to watch Kureo start to get himself to his knees. Laughing as the last remaining sliver of sanity left him. "I will make you my Quinque. You belong with your family."

Touka said quietly. "Hinami. Finish him."

Hinami shook her head slowly. "No. I can't do it."

"He killed your parents! Get your revenge!" Yelled the teenage girl. Rage coloring her voice before grimaced in pain as the action aggravated her injury.

"But I don't want revenge!" The young girl cried. "I want Mom and Dad! I want to be held by Dad's strong arms again. I want Mom to sing me to sleep every night. I want to feel like I'm safe again. Revenge won't bring that back. It won't make this feeling go away. Revenge doesn't matter to me. I'm just sad. I'm sad because I miss them. I want to see my Mom and Dad, again. I want the three of us to be together again. It's lonely being by myself."

Her Kagune folded in and condensed till they became foot and a half-stubs resembling their full size. Tears streamed from the adolescent's eyes openly and without any signs of stopping. Xeno muttered under his breath. " _ **How cruel is this world, for such words to come from a child's mouth?**_ "

Kureo suddenly roared in laughter. "Well, then! Let me reunite you with them!"

With a galloping leap towards Hinami, Kureo tried to kill her. Before he could deliver any harm to an innocent girl a streak of red light streaked across the psychopath's throat and it was slit. A Ukaku spike shattered against the far wall of the waterway. The old man fell into the water grabbing at his throat trying feebly to stop the bleeding. Xeno had moved to take action but would've been too late if it hadn't been for Touka. Her crystallized Ukaku wrapped around her arm for accuracy and point towards the dying investigator. Her face had a grim expression before she exhaled sharply in exhaustion and her Kagune returned to its standard form then dissolved. Blood spurted out from the gash on the investigator's throat in quick bursts in succession with his heart. The shard slit his throat but it wasn't deep enough to damage his larynx or vocal chords but it did sever an artery.

Giving up on stopping the bleeding Kureo started crawling towards Hinami. His voice was a rasp as he laughed. "I let myself be killed by a ghoul. I slipped up."

"Hinami! Get away from him!" Touka cried out reaching for the girl.

Hinami took a fearful step back before speeding around him and towards the high schooler. The old man tried to grab her weakly but missed. The girl threw herself into violet haired girl's arms who winced in pain but didn't refute the young one. Xeno flashed over and crouched behind them his Ukaku coming down softly over the girls. The little girl was covered completely shielding her from both harm and the gruesome sight making its way towards the three of them. Touka's head was above the Ukaku cloak draped around her but it was next to the Kakuja's head. She grimaced at the thought of being near the liar but didn't say anything. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her close in a protective gesture. She could vaguely see his other hand reaching across her and laying a hand on the adolescent's head.

Marcus had once shown her an image of the Sci-Fi horror creature Xeno resembled so she always imagined the Kakuja as a slimy, cold, disgusting creature but he wasn't like that. There was no slime and the chitin felt like the shell of a turtle. Rough but not enough to be hurtful, actually it felt quite nice. Also, he was warm, really warm despite the cold. There was no way he was at average body temperature. She actually felt safe underneath his Ukaku, being held by him and she might have welcomed it. Maybe cherished it. If he hadn't lied to her.

The splashes of water caused by Kureo drew Touka's attention. The old man had turned and was clawing his towards the three of them. His eyes were hazy and he really wasn't all there. He was close to death but refused to go. A rasping chuckle bubbled from his throat. "Look at you huddled close together. None of you deserve to live. The value of your existence? Now that's funny. How ridiculous. You damn ghouls."

He was getting close, within several feet. Xeno raised his tail over head ready to strike like a scorpion. The old man continued his inane babble. "It's not over… You have to pay… All of you… Until I can bury that One-eyed bastard with my own hands… I can't die yet."

Kureo was within arm's reach with a hand outstretched towards Touka when he let out a long sickly and raspy exhale before going limp. He fell into the water motionless, his hand landing on the Ukaku cloak. Hinami felt the limb hit the speed type Kagune and flinched. Xeno and Touka comforted her by rubbing her head and arm, respectively. The two older ghouls watched the dead investigator carefully, waiting to see of he popped back for one last scare. It may seem childish but it had been one hell of a night. The Kakuja heard the old man's heart give a last weak heartbeat before going silent. Yet they stayed there watching for a few minutes longer. The adrenaline and terror lingered before settling down.

Now sure that Kureo wasn't going make a last come back, Xeno let his Rinkaku rest and he rose to his feet. Letting go of Touka gently in the process. As the massive Ukaku left them the two female ghouls shivered as the cold came rushing back to them. The Kakuja turned to the wall closest to them and walked towards it. The high school girl watched as he lifted his hand and with all five of his talons start carving the name of the ghoul group they had decided to put the blame on. Just like they had planned from the get go. The Brit may have decided that he didn't this to end the way it did after he beat Kureo. It didn't matter anymore. What did was just making sure that everything wasn't in vain. He finished the last Kanji symbol for the ghoul organization they planned to blame

As Xeno turned and started walking down deeper into the waterway, Touka yelled out angrily. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

The Kakuja stopped. As he turned the carapace covering his head turned into the black ooze like tendrils and crawled back of his head and stopped just past his hairline. He looked with sorrow and regret, responding simply with. " _ **Home.**_ "

With that, the carapace reformed and he left. Touka scowled in his direction before scoffing. Hinami was still clinging onto her, weeping. The high school girl rubbed the little one's shoulders comfortingly. Then she stiffened as she felt a presence on her stomach. She slowly turned her head to see Kureo's limp left hand resting there. She relaxed slightly upon seeing that it wasn't moving. It had fallen there after Xeno had moved and it took her this long to notice. She stared at the torn glove that still covered it somehow.

A surge of rage ran through her at the sight. "Were you so sick of us you couldn't even touch us with your bare hands?!"

Touka reached down and removed it with a sharp tug, tearing the cloth. Her eye widened slowly till her whites could be seen all the way around the irises in pure horror. Kureo's had removed the ring finger digit of the exoskeleton to accommodate for the gold wedding band that was on his finger. She had a new and sudden perspective. She had never thought about if anyone would miss him. If there was anyone he had cared about. That was then she hit a thought path she had been able to ignore until now. Akira. She remembered reading in the file Yoshimura had gotten for her, that her mom had died, killed by a ghoul, by the One-eyed Owl.

And Touka had just killed her father who sought out vengeance. Just like her.

Touka covered her mouth to stop the bile that threatened to come up. She started scrambling away from Kureo's corpse and that hand frantically. Her eyes were locked on that ring. She ignored the pain as she dragged the Quinque that was still in her. Hinami who being dragged along also lifted her head worriedly. "What is it?"

The little girl tried to look where the high schooler was but was stopped when her face was pressed against the older girl's shoulder, whose voice was as frantic as her actions. "Don't look, Hinami. Don't look."

She stopped when she was several meters away from the floating body of Kureo. Her breathing was rushed and fearful. Her eyes have yet to look anywhere else but that ring.

"Hey! Are you guys okay?!" Called out Kaneki as he jogged down the walkway closest to the female ghouls. Yomo was following with ease with a large medical kit in hand

They both were bandaged. Yomo shockingly had more than Kaneki. Although, he had been stabbed through the gut and was nearly disemboweled when they tried to patch him up and the half-breed had received mostly blunt force trauma. They rushed over and started taking care of the girls. The Black Ops member of Anteiku had noticed Touka's intense gaze towards Kureo's body and placed purposefully on the way as he worked on her. They had to move the high school girl out of the water before they could remove the Quinque, in order to keep her intestines from falling into the bacteria infested water. They kept everything from falling out and got some heavy duty bandages on the gaping hole. After giving her both topical and ingested antibiotics. They left. Moving as quick as they could with injured

Hinami rode on Yomo's back, the man more than strong enough to carry her, while Kaneki walked beside Touka ready to help if she needed it. Everyone stopped suddenly when a sorrow and rage filled cry echoed in the night. The half-breed recognized it to be Amon's voice making that sound. The violet haired turned to look at the underground waterway. It a hundred meters off but she swears she saw a dark figure carry off a lighter one up the nearby stairs.

"Touka," Kaneko said softly. He had seen it too. "We have to go."

She nodded and let him direct her back after Yomo who had already resumed walking. A few moments of silence passed before Hinami said quietly with tiredness. "Is it okay?"

"I'm sorry?" The half-breed responded.

"Is it okay for me to live?"

The two teens flinched at the dark question that should have no business leaving a young girl's mouth. The oldest ghoul present didn't show any response to it. Though he did look back at the girl. The college student thought about how he should answer.

When he settled on something, he said. "Hinami. In Mrs. Fueguchi's last moments she had seen us run up behind the doves and hide. At first, she looked distraught then she smiled."

Hinami looked behind her at him in surprise, so did Touka. He continued his answer. "For the past few days I've wondered why she did that and it never made sense till now. She smiled because she knew you were safe. That you would be protected. She had also tried to say something but… never got the chance. What I think she was trying to say was that you should live."

Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes as she imagined her Mom's smile and her saying that, and nodded. Pressing her face against Yomo's back. "Yeah."

Yomo turned his head forward again and no one saw the flicker of an approving smile except for Kaneki. A faint smile appeared on his face at the thought. Then he saw Touka stumble slightly. She was looking rather pale and her walk had turned into a shuffle. He asked. "You need a hand?"

She looked up sharply, surprise registering on her face for a sec before she snapped angrily. "Hell no. I don't need your help."

Her retort lost effectiveness as she stumbled again. So the half-breed ignored her response and slipped one of her arms over his shoulders and helped support her weight. "Here."

She looked at him confusedly commenting. "I don't get you."

Otherwise, she didn't fight it. She was too tired to do so. She rested her head on his shoulders and let him support her. Kaneki let her have her pride and didn't say anything. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts anyways. Things were changing. The CCG was still going to be after Rabbit and whatever codename they had given Marcus. He knew that the two of them had something planned to take care of that. The investigators will still be back, though. Tomorrow, the day after that, a month or even a year from now. They'll be back. Something had to be done. There had to be something he could do. One thing Amon was right on. "This world is wrong."

'Then I'll have to do something to make it right.'

* * *

Back at the waterway, amid all the ruin and clutter, the blood stained walls and the water shaded red by what Kureo had bled out into it, a woman stood in front of the name that Xeno had carved into the wall. She was unusually tall, standing near or even taller than Amon, and she was in her late twenties or early thirties but she wore the age well. Her skin was like smooth porcelain and her face carried the angular features of a European, maybe Russian. High cheekbones and a sharp jawline and a narrow nose.

She had short, shoulder length, bleach blonde hair that was swept back and her almond shaped eyes were ice blue in color. She wore black BDU pants that were tucked into black combat boots. There was a Russian standard issue pistol in a tactical holster on her leg. She had on an unzipped black military vest and nothing else but an azure sports bra underneath that. The ensemble showing off her more generous body, especially her breasts which were emphasized more so with her arms cross under them. If the cold fall air seemed to bother her she didn't show it, actually, she seemed quite comfortable with her weight resting on one leg and her arms crossed. The only sign that the cold even touched her could be seen through the pointed ends of her bra.

Her eyes were filled with thought as she looked at the writing on the wall. As the Russian woman stood there, a man wearing full black military grade combat gear, with a Bushmaster ACR assault rifle with a handle grip and a thermal scope, walked up to her. Her voice held authority and experience as she said with a hint of a Russian accent coloring her English. "Report."

"High-Value Target X has entered the twenty-fourth ward. There are scouts at the investigator's place waiting to report when he arrives home." He reported quickly in soldier-like precision.

"Good." She nodded her gaze never leaving the writing.

He looked back and forth between the Russian woman and the Kanji. He then spoke with a more casual tone. "Looks like the rumors were true. The search is over."

"Yeah, it is." She replied with a hint of disbelief. "Didn't think it would be over that fast."

"We were bound for some good luck eventually." He answered with a shrug.

"Guess so." She muttered drifting off at the end.

He let her have a moment of silent thought before gesture with his rifle towards the writing. "What do you want to do about that, Ma'am?"

She sighed as she turned to look at him fully. "Leave it. We need to keep the attention off him as much as possible. Let's go, I have to brush up on my Japanese."

She turned started walking down the waterway and as she passed the soldier he clicked his heels and replied. "Yes, Ma'am." Before following her.

He couldn't help but notice the patch on the back of her tac vest. He had no idea started that trend in their group but it more or less stuck. He had one himself. It was the design of a black knight's helmet lined in red, with gashes in it resembling battle damage and a gray sword going behind the helmet diagonally. In the eye holes were a pair of crimson eyes glaring at whoever would be looking at it. All the patches were the same except for the lettering that was on a banner beneath the helm. It was a different language that pertained to the home country of the wearer but they all meant the same thing, or at least as close as possible.

 _Knightmare_

* * *

 _ **35,388 words.**_

 _ **HOLY SHEEEIT! Not gonna lie, did not expect this. Not even close. I had only planned for this chapter to be 20,000. I hit thirty around Halloween and was nearing the end so I kept going. Hit a few speed bumps but finally cranked it out. I took a lot more artictic licence with canon events than usual but i thought it made more sense that way.**_

 _ **Hope y'all enjoyed this one, I'll post another chapter before December, a sort of aftermath chapter. Then I'll take a brake during December to plan more of Shivering Grasp, perform maintenance on my profile. Things like that. So onto reviews then I'll see you next.**_

 _ **I'd like to welcome AlphaF34r to our little fandom. Thank you for following my story.**_

 _ **stormANDjessi-626: Yeah, I'm back! Sorry for taking so long but hey at least it was good. Glad you liked it. Like the new name!**_

 _ **Twain Apprentice: Always the curious one.  
1) I get it now, during the twentieth ward raid. Uh, haven't thought that far ahead hence the established planning break. Though if I did, I wouldn't say. Might allude to stuff. I will say a showdown might happen. When? I have no clue.**_

 _ **2)Forgot about Harima there for a second. He will be thinking about her, and I already have an explanation for the way he acted towards Akira in Chapter Five: Newt. But, yeah, Harima will be in his thoughts.**_

 _ **3)I don't know my tarot cards that well. I didn't even know that Sui Ishida assigned characters to cards. I'll have to do some research, ask mom about it, she's super into that stuff. I might have an answer by the next chapter.**_

 _ **Next time on Shivering Grasp of a Promise**_

 _ **Chapter Eleven: What I've Done**_


	11. Devils do cry

Akira gave a tentative look towards the clock. Eleven thirty at night. Marcus was usually home by nine at the latest. Normally, she wouldn't worry. She knew her boy could take care of himself. This wouldn't be the first night he got home late. Like that time his arm was broken. She got that knock on the door close to midnight. Tonight was different however. Kureo was out there, probably still trying to hunt the Kakuja down with unusually strong determination. He had been content with stewing in his anger and contempt but something had happened to get him motivated to take down the Brit. Something he learned within the past few weeks. Something had convinced him that Marcus was more then a passive threat and was now a threat that required action. But what?

She had sent up the request for her father to be demoted and reassigned to the Cage. Just like she had told him she would. However, such requests take forever because despite there being regulations set by the UN for cruel and usual conduct against ghouls, no one follows it and no one reports it. Even if someone did, the request would never get filled and just collect dust, or get lost entirely on the way up. Her position in Arima's team allowed enough political leverage to get it moving, but the standard procedure takes up to three days for it to get where it needs to be for approval then another day to actually be approved then another three days for the orders to get passed down. That's a week. A week for Kureo to continue his war against Marcus. A week for something to go wrong.

Akira covered her mouth as she yawned. She looked down at the empty coffee cup in her hands. Since it was clear she wasn't going to get any decent sleep anyways she got up to pour herself another cup. She got up from her chair in the living room and walked to the kitchen. As she grabbed the coffee pot and started pouring its contents into her cup, there was a rapping sound against the sliding glass door to the patio. She set the pot down and looked. Marcus was there barely visible through the glass door thanks to the lamp she has on by her chair; the light reflecting off the window and hiding him partially. She was able to see he was in his human form and wearing his hunting pants but he held his mask in his hands by the strap. Most of the blood from his injuries had been washed off by the splashing water during his fight but there still was a few drying streaks. The most notable thing was the haunted look in his eyes.

Akira noticed the blood and rushed over immediately to open the door and let him in. Her voice was covered with worry as she exclaimed. "Marcus! What happened?!"

He slowly stepped forward till he was toe to toe with her. Then he lowered his head till it thumped against her shoulder. She could hear his quiet sobs as he cried into her chest dampening her tank top. "Forgive me."

She blinked. Stunned at his actions, he hasn't really cried since the day she tripped on that root. She held him close, caressing his hair comfortingly and whispered. "It's okay. It's all right. I'm here."

Marcus still continue to cry muttering his apology over and over again. Akira guided him inside and shut the sliding glass door before they caught a cold. Though he would probably be fine, she judged from the way his body seemed to be warmer than usual. The blonde slowly lowered them to the ground leaning against the love seat for back support. She wondered what in the hell happened to get her son like this. So broken down. She could tell something had been weighing down on him the whole way here from wherever he had come from and that he had only been able to keep it together long enough to get to her. Now all of it was flowing out uncontrollably like it had so many years ago. She let him. Waiting patiently and whisper consoling words to him and stroking his hair, like one would a child.

Eventually, the tears stopped and he was quiet leaning against her shoulder, eyes closed. He wasn't asleep, as evidenced by occasional sniffle. Akira waited another minute before asking softly. "What happened?

Marcus hesitated. Should he tell her? He wouldn't be able to handle it if she rejected him like Touka. Akira was probably the most important person in the world. She gave him everything. He would still be a street rat surviving on scraps, or dead if it wasn't for her. If she were to push him away out of hatred and fear right now. He wasn't too sure that he would be able to survive it. He wasn't too sure that he would want to. However, Akira was his Mom, she loved him irrevocably and unconditionally like he did her. She loved him even after knowing all the sin he had done and was doing. Would she be able to look past what he had done and love him still? Like the mother he thought she was? Could he bet on that? He could. That's what she had taught him family was. Sticking with each other till the end and keeping each other safe.

Marcus told her everything. From the moment he created the plan to blame some one else for Kureo's death to the moment he left that water way. He told her about the cage he had trapped Xeno in and it's destruction. He told her of the power had gained and it's potential cost. He had told her of the way Touka looked at him after she had learned his true identity. He told her everything. Unfiltered and uncensored.

A hurricane of emotions swirled up inside as Akira listened to this. Things had gone wrong, horrible wrong. She knew where too. When she told her father that she was going to put him in the Cage. She hadn't meant to incite him or push him past him limits. She didn't mean to make him so enraged where he was no longer capable of thinking rationally. She wasn't trying to put him in the Cage put of spite but to keep him safe! There has been a study that shows long term investigators start having psychological issues in their later years. They think like ghouls for so long they start acting like them. Minor cases are sociopathic behavior to full on psychopathic. Kureo had been showing those signs of deterioration and she wanted to keep him safe from that by putting him in the Cage. She had been planning on that. Now, she was the last bearer of the Mado name

He couldn't help but start crying again as the regret of letting Kureo die hit him again in his retelling. "What have I done? He was your last family and I let him die. I could've just knocked him unconscious and dragged him away from Touka so she wouldn't kill him. But I let him go, I allowed him to attack Hinami, I let Touka kill him. I might as well have slit his throat myself. And for what? Hinami's safe but Touka hates me, she'll tell the others who I am and I won't be allowed to go back. I've opened the door to a power that I don't know will cost me. I thought I could do some good for once instead of hurting people but I've only brought more pain to everyone I care about. I'm just a monster.

"No. No, you're not." Akira replied insistently, shaking her head. "You were just trying to protect your own, protect who you care about. Dad was going down a bad path. He had been for awhile. I just didn't see it till now. I had tried to get him off it but I may have only kept him there. It might have been too late. This may have been the only way it could have ended for him. Either way it wasn't your fault, not wholly at least. He couldn't stop when he needed to. Don't take all the blame on your shoulders."

The kakuja sat up and looked at her dismay. "But, even if that's so. What about Touka? What about me?"

"We'll figure it out together." She answered. "You said that Dad was my last family. You were wrong. You're family too. You're my son."

His eyes widened with contentment as they threatened to spill more tears that were of joy instead of sadness. "Okay, Mom."

Marcus has called her that thousands of times in the three quarters of a decade he has been with her. It was always out of the respect of the position she held over him. It was title for honoring her clothing him, feeding him, putting a roof over his head. He never thought about it but it really held no personal meaning for him despite what he had convinced himself of. It was just to acknowledge what she had done for him. When he said it thst night though it was personal. There was this quote from an old comic book movie he had found on a random google excursion. It went "Mother is the name for god on the lips and hearts of children." He always thought it meant that mother's were the creators of children. He now realized how woefully off the mark he was. A mother is everything to a child. Their whole life. It was also the other way around. There's no greater love that that of a mother's towards her child. He understood.

All his emotions towards Akira before was him trying to pay a debt. Doing as she said, trying not to hurt her, keeping her company. It was all for the sake of being respectful. That's what he thought love was for ten years. Now he realized that it was about caring for the wellbeing of the person you care about because of how it would feel to not have them there anymore, to live a life without them. It also meant being there for that person so they won't know that feeling of not having you there. He understood.

Akira saw the change in Marcus' eyes. She raised a hand and cupped his face soothingly. He held her hand to his face with his own and nuzzled against it like a cat. She spoke softly as she said, "Let's go to bed. We'll figure out in the morning. Okay, newt?"

Marcus had always despised that nickname but this time, it was quite comforting. "Alright."

For the first time in his life he felt human.

Kaneki sat in the lobby of Kanou general hospital. The hospital he was taken to after he was attacked by Rize. He was here for his two week check up. Just to make sure everything was working okay and all that. Which it had technically, the new organ had settled in perfectly to the point where it integrated it's inherent ghoul qualities into his system making him the half-breed he is at the same time. In retrospect though, it was a ghoul organ! Not human! So, whether or not the surgery was a success could go either way on that.

While he waited for his name to be called, the TV they had installed into the wall flashed to a news reporter who was a spritely young woman that stated. "In other news, today is the funeral of First class investigator Kureo who died tragically two weeks ago in an incursion with ghouls."

Kaneki heard this and put down his book to look at the TV. The news reporter. "The plans for a funeral began a week after his death when his body was finally released from CCG'S morgue where it was part of the investigation to find his killers. No evidence was found but the most likely killers are the ghouls b-rank 745: daughter, A-rank 413: Rabbit, and A-rank 426: Skull face."

The screen cut from the reporter to the wanted posted for Hinami, which had not changed from the last time Kaneki saw it, next to a full body sketch of Touka in her hunting outfit with mask included, and a similar one of Marcus. They were missing a lot of his scars and his mask didn't look right.

Then it cut to the wall of the waterway that Marcus had carved into and the reporter resumed her report. "It is also believed to be the work of a new and uprising ghoul gang known as Knightmare. There have been three other identical assaults on investigators in wards four and eleven that resulted in serious injury but no casualties. When the Chief of Division One Iwao Kuroiwa was asked what was being done about the new ghoul radical group, this was his response:"

The screen cut to a video of a stocky man with a square face, thick eyebrows that was the same color as his dark, short sweptback hair, with round dark eyes. He was standing at a podium out side the main office, wearing formal clothing like other investigators. He said in a stern tone. "We are looking into the new organization calling themselves Knightmare. What we know is that they are foreign based and well equipped. We have no clue as to where they are basing their operations but do know that when we do find them our answer to these renegade actions will be swift, strong and precise. That is all."

As the Division One chief stepped away the crowd of reporters started clamoring for one last question. The TV cut back to the reporter who said. "According to his statement it may mean that there may be a Ward Raid in the future. Ward Raids have been discussed, flyers and letters have been sent home listing the procedure but has yet to be done since it was implemented. Does this signal a change in the ongoing war with ghouls? Return to TGNN for our next topic: "Is the ghoul war escalating?" Tonight at 10:00."

Kaneki's attention was drawn back to his book as the news program ended with a lively tune. He wanted to read his book but his name got called and he was led into the checkup room.

Kanou walked in with a simple greeting and got to work. It was a simple follow up visit. Making sure everything was working properly, listening for any complaints, issues or new symptoms. The half-breed had plenty to say such as but not limited to him being a ghoul but admitting that could be bad. So he kept his mouth shut. The doctor had him partake in several tests to make sure everything was okay. The college student nearly lost it when the blood draw equipment came out but the needle went in perfectly fine without being stopped by his tough ghoul skin. Which was odd altogether but he rolled with it. The miniscule puncture wound was covered with cotton as the needle was pulled out conveniently concealing that fact that it healed near instantaneously.

Kanou set the blood filled vials and the needle on the tray they first came on and said. "It'll take a day or two to run the blood but from what I can tell it looks like there aren't any problems. You've been taking your medicine, right?"

"Yeah." Kaneki said hesitantly.

Kaneki had issues believing that. He had considered the possibility that despite his body being the way it was it could've been possible that he could still have human levels of RC. However, both Touka and Marcus shot that idea down like they were AA guns with their descriptions of how the high RC give ghouls their unique attributes and considering that the half-breed shows all the standard traits of a ghoul that idea just did not work. Even so, the tests wouldn't they show that he has the high level of Red Child cells. Actually, he had looked up the RC scan gates and there was some kind of small scale scanner that's about the size of a defibrillator machine that can do a quick scan of the RC count. It was nowhere in sight. Which could mean that Kanou knows about his ghoul nature and was hiding it. Rize was a ghoul which meant that the doctor would have had to have used specialized tools to get the organ. Maybe if she was mentioned…

"A-also," Kaneki stammered. "Were you able to get in touch with Rize's family?"

A forlorn look settled onto the doctor's face adding a few years to his features. "It seems that they had a nice funeral for her. They didn't want to talk to me, which is understandable. It's unfortunate but natural."

Since it was clear that he wasn't lying, Kaneki bowed his head apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." The human said dismissively. "Why don't you head on home? Come back in a month for another follow up."

"Okay."

Kaneki bowed respectively and left. Kanou watched him go and smirked knowingly. The half-breed caught a bus to Kamii university where he barely made it to his first class. It was a good thing that his classes didn't start till late in the morning otherwise he'd never make his classes. As he was sitting in his ancient literature class listening to his professor drone on and on but he wasn't really paying attention he was wondering about Rize and her family, and how they probably had a grudge against him.

Then Hide nudged him with his elbow and whispered. "They definitely have a grudge, huh?"

Kaneki snapped his head towards his fried in surprise and exclaimed. "Eh?"

The dirty blonde haired human rolled his eyes annoyingly. "Idiot. You didn't see the news? A ghoul investigator was killed! It's such an exceptional case, even Ogura is doing TV appearances. There have been ghoul specials every night at ten since that investigator guy died. Today's the same."

"Oh. Yeah. Crazy." The half-breed said slowly. Glad that his mind hadn't been read or something like that. "So, what's this about a grudge?"

"I made my own guess about the ghoul." Nagachika answered. "Look, a previous investigator had died a few days before this Mado guy did, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Why would a ghoul go to all that danger to kill not just one but two investigators? It seems like there was no intention of eating them and both of them were on the same case. So, it had to be for revenge or something like that. Don't you think?" The human finished with a question.

"Yeah, I guess." The half-breed replied slowly. 'I don't like where this going.'

"Here, this is a copy of the wanted poster." He reached into his bag and pulled out the wanted poster for Hinami. He pointed at the information at the bottom and stated. "Look at this."

The dark haired student read the section his friend was pointing to. " 'Wanted for attacking humans in vengeance for her mother's death…' This child killed an investigator?"

He made sure to sound surprised as to raise no suspicions. It seemed to have worked as Hideyoshi rested his cheek against the back of his hand and countered with. "Nah. I have a hunch that Rabbit and Daughter are two different ghouls. The CCG concluded that it was Daughter who killed those investigators based solely on that she was there when the mother was captured. The information is scattered in bits. They don't even have a portrait. They best they have is a vague description of her clothes and a general estimation of her age. It was something ridiculous too with like an eight year range. I think she immediately got away from that scene, like if the mother protected the daughter."

He started doodling cartoonish pictures to match his explanation. "If we assume that Daughter is Rabbit, then if she fought side by side with her mother, no, even by herself the Daughter would be strong enough to fight the investigators maybe win. If she had the will and the strength to kill two investigators then why didn't she do it when her mother was captured. Thinking that Rabbit is acting as an agent of revenge for Daughter or in cooperation with her makes a whole lot sense. Then there's that Skull face guy. He's a wild card. He was there both times Rabbit was. But he wasn't there for Daughter when her mom died. Now, it's easy to say that he must've been added on as a protective detail after the mother's death but ghouls have never had the right kind of organization for that and the few groups that do exist don't care for others to issue a guard detail. So why was he there?

"I know a guy who knows a guy that is a radical against the CCG stating that their humane methods aren't humane. He claims to have a recording of both the capture of the mother, and the first appearance of Rabbit and Skull Face. Won't say how but he says that Rabbit attacked a pair of local investigators that were on this case and killed one. Then the two main office guys showed up and started kicking Rabbit's ass. She gave them a run for their money though using her ghoul claw and everything. Then just as she was about to lose Skull Face literally drops in and takes the fight back before retreating with Rabbit. Was he a passerby that wanted to help? If so, why was he there when Mado died? Not everything is lining up with what the CCG is telling us. Of course the guy just told us this, he didn't show it. But there's that Knightmare angle.

"It just doesn't seem right. Why would they emblazon their name like that? It seems a little too terrorist especially with only two casualties. However, it conveniently lead the CCG's attention away from the twentieth ward. So, maybe they were behind it or maybe Skull Face did it to put the blame on someone else. But why didn't they retaliate for getting blamed for something they didn't do? It's possible Knightmare just picked it up after Mado died but why? If that's the case then you have to consider the reason Skull Face did it in the first place. He could've been protecting his hunting territory in the Twentieth ward but it might have been easier to move.

"Our ward is unusually peaceful compared to the other wards, maybe he was trying to keep that peace but there's no way he could do that on his own. There's probably a bunch of ghouls here and there's no way all of them would listen to him. They might if he was leading a group or is part of one anyways. Perhaps it's Knightmare and their base is here. Or it could just be a random one. In either case, our understanding of ghoul organization and relationships would be sorely lacking. They do have the organization and the right ability to care to assign a guard detail." Eventually Hide caught on that he was starting to drone on and on, so he just leaned back in his chair, folded his hands behind his head and shrugged. "Ignore me, I'm just trying to say that's there's too many holes in the CCG's explanation."

Kaneki had paid rapt attention to every word and was absolutely terrified of and for Hide. Nishiki had been absolutely right: Hide was pretty smart and that made him dangerous. He picked everything about the entire case apart and had come so shockingly close to the actual truth. If he could figure that out than couldn't the CCG. Even if they didn't, all he would have to do is present his findings and obliterate all the hard work and loss that was done to fix this. Plus Touka wouldn't be too happy to hear this. She would kill Hide on the spot just on basic principle. What made him think of all this anyways?

"By the way, Hide, why are you thinking about this." Kaneki tried to ask slyly but wasn't all that successful.

Hide reached into his bag and whipped out a book that had that ghoul expert that was on the TV when Kaneki first discovered he was a ghoul. The dirty blonde exclaimed. "Well, listen up! This book was super interesting."

The half-breed stared blankly in legitimate confusion. "What's that?"

"What?" The human responded to the stare worn one of his own that questioned how his friend got into college. "It's Ogura's Book of Ghoul Dismantling! The supreme volume for studying ghoul psychology and biology from various angles! I don't read novels but I can read this stuff. The examples of ghouls are cool too. Like this group in the third ward that wear clown masks or the urban legend of the fourth ward's No Eyed Demon."

As he continued on, Kaneki realized how influential Hide could be. A song or movie could get him ingested in learning a new language or martial art. The human went through fads like they were going out of style. The half-breed listened casually until his friend said. "Perhaps I should start looking into The Daughter case myself. Bet I would be pretty good it."

At this the dark haired student get alarmed and whisper shouted. "Are you insane?! That's dangerous! Stop it before you get hurt! This isn't a game!"

"Whoa. What's with you suddenly." The human questioned confusedly but relinquished and put the book and poster away.

He may have acted like he didn't know what was going on, but Hide understood Kaneki's worry. Whatever group he was apart of had to maintain their secrecy to stay running and the human threated that. The half-breed might not be able to kill him but somebody would. He couldn't be sure but he was willing to bet that the ghoul had been involved in this somehow. Actually by getting so alarmed he had confirmed it. All the dirty blonde was trying to do was warn his friend of how easy it was to peice that together and tell him that he knew about his childhood friend's alter ego. Unfortunately, Kaneki Ken has a tendency to be a bit thick when out comes to casual suggestions. Hopefully he would get it eventually.

After his classes and a quick stop by his apartment for his work clothes, Kaneki stepped into Anteiku. He didn't get before getting rushed by a pair of ghouls. The taller and leaner of the two slapped the teen on the back and exclaimed. "Yo, eyepatch! Did you really drive away a dove?"

Stumbling forward a step and looking slightly distressed by all the attention Kaneki sputtered out. "What."

"This guy saw the whole thing while he was out food shopping." The taller ghoul pointed at a more stouter one standing behind him, who nodded enthusiastically. "You'd knocked him down in just one blow! You're pretty strong despite how you look."

"You're amazing, you should go out and kick all of their asses." The stouter one insisted.

Koma called out from his place behind the counter. "Come on, guys, let him work. His shift's starting."

The ghouls begrudgingly went back to their seats while Kaneki took of his jacket he had over his work clothes and hung it on the hook that was by the greeting podium that was next to the door for employees. He hadn't intended to do that when he went up against Amon.

"Sorry about that." Koma apologized. "All the customers are ghouls at the moment so everyone's in high spirits. You've become something of a celebrity now."

"For some reason." Kaneki muttered.

"Well," The boisterous ghoul struck a pose and said nonchalantly. "I may look like a nice guy but a long time ago I was pretty naughty. I once went by the name the Devil Ape."

"Devil ape, huh?" The half-breed in a questioning tone with the accompanying look.

Yoshimura walked by then having served a couple of customers and walked into the back rooms. Kaneki rushed after him with a hurried excuse to Koma. He caught up to the manager in the kitchen saying. "I'm sorry, sir. If you would excuse me for a minute."

The old ghoul looked at him, raised his eyebrows curiously and replied. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry for acting on my own." The college student apologized. He had been wanting to do this for the past couple of weeks but had never mustered up enough courage till today. "It'll be my fault when the investigators start coming here steadily. I'm really sorry."

A moment of tense silence that left the teenager wondering what the resolve would be passed before he got his answer. "What are you talking about?"

Kaneki stared agape at the manager. Of all the answers that was the least expected. Yoshimura relieved him of his confusion by saying. "I want to share my gratitude. I heard everything another that day from Yomo. The "human you" fighting to protect ghouls. I couldn't be more pleased. Nonetheless, whatever Touka and Marcus did, it drew attention away from the twentieth ward so there won't be doves marching into our ward and if it hasn't been for your contribution that wouldn't have happened."

Worry lifted off of the younger ghoul's shoulders at that. "That's good to hear."

"Besides that, I should…" The aged ghoul paused to think about whether he should say that. "No. Nevermind."

The half-breed blinked confusedly before shaking it off and said. "One last thing, manager. How's Touka?"

The wizened ghoul smiled. "Actually, perfect timing. She's healed up completely and she's willing to talk finally."

"Really?!"the dark haired ghoul exclaimed.

After that night and a closer inspection of Touka's wounds, it was discovered that the Quinque had passed dangerously closed to her spine. The street doctor they called in suggested she stay in bed for two weeks. To make sure not to damage her spine and allow the massive amount of flesh lost to regrow. They had asked what had happened in the waterway but she didn't say a thing. From the way her eyes looked Kaneki thought she was trying to heal from something more then an injury to her stomach. She had been hurt or scarred by whatever happened down there. Everyone saw that but no one can get a word out of her. The only one able to get her to talk was Hinami who already knows what happened. The only clue they have as to what happened is when they asked if she wanted to go to Marcus' place for a better bed she refused. Vehemently.

"When? Now?" Kaneki enthusiastically asked.

"After work." Yoshimura replied with a placating wave of his hand. "She's going to tell all of us even asked me to invite Uta."

"Really?" The half-breed blinking in surprise. "That's weird."

The old ghoul agreed. "It is. But I guess she has a reason."

"I guess so."

Touka picked up her sleeveless shirt off the bed and put it on. She winced as she had to stretch her arms over her head to slid on the shirt and thus stretch her recently healed muscles. The doc may have told her that she was okay to move around but he had also told her that moving those muscles would hurt for a while as they redeveloped to their former status. They should return to their former glory as long she doesn't do anything too strenuous with them. Which screwed the pooch for her. The injury had taken out her abs, obliques, and her latissimus dorsi on the left side. Which meant that twisting or bending in any direction hurt and so did lifting her arms past her shoulders. Doc gave her another week before she was back to a hundred percent.

She unconsciously traced the scar that was on her abdomen. It was a couple inches wide with spidery tendrils stretching out. Touka prided herself on being fast enough not to get hit or to receive only light damage that wouldn't give her scars. This was probably the heaviest hit she's ever gotten. For half a second she wondered what Marcus would think before remembering that she was never going to talk to him again. Fresh anger surged up as she thought about how he had lied to her. It may little over a month since they but in that time she had grown to trust him. It may have something to do with how similar he was in attitude to Yoriko. Positive, friendly and caring. Then there was how similar he was to Touka too. He had been through some of the greatest hells Tokyo had to offer and he knew when to make the tough call. Then he had found solace in someone who had taken him in. She had found comfort in that he was able to relate to her.

Of course, that may have all been an act to get close to Touka so he could eat her or even worse. Psychopaths like Marcus are into some sick shit. It was why she had to tell the others about him before they let him back into the shop. There was no way he would be happy that he was found out. So she had to tell the others before he came back looking to clean up. The fact he hasn't yet both made her curious and terrified her. She had been acting all depressed over killing Kureo and taking Akira's father for the past couple weeks when she shouldn't have bothered. That bitch had been harboring the bastard all this time. Besides she should have warned the others as soon as possible. It was about damn time she did it.

Touka straightened her jeans and stepped out of the guest room she had been resting in for the past couple of weeks. She walked down the hall to the meeting room. She breathed deeply to prepare herself before stepping into the room. The first thing she had noticed eerily similar the seating arrangements were to when she learned of Ryouko's death. Irimi and Koma were sitting on the furthest couch from the door facing it. Kaneki was sitting on the closest couch that was facing away. Yomo was standing up and leaning against the wall. There was a few differences, like that the black ops member of Anteiku was leaning against the wall adjacent to the door. Sitting next to the eyepatch wearing ghoul was Uta looking as relaxed as ever as though he was unaware of how uncomfortable he was making the teen. Everyone was still in their work clothes except the tall white haired ghoul who was wearing his trench coat and pants, and the goth who was being a goth in his stylishly torn and studded black jeans, loose black shirt that hung off of one shoulder and black jacket.

Yoshimura was there waiting by the door with a cup of coffee. He handed it to Touka and said patiently. "Whenever you're ready."

"Thanks." She mumbled and sipped the drink. It was the manager's special relaxation brew.

Touka nodded her thanks and walked over to the furthest of the chairs that sat at the end so that everyone could see her. Yoshimura sat on the chair at the opposite end. She sat there drinking her coffee still trying to psyche herself up for retelling what happened that night in the waterway. Eventually she ran out of coffee to buy time with so she set the cup down on the table and let out a sigh.

"So, you want to know what happened?" Touka asked. She took the silence and the attentive gazes as confirmation to continue. "The best place to start would after I went out and attacked the investigators."

Thus Touka told them the whole story. From that point to where Kaneki and Yomo walked into the waterway. She didn't hide any detail or lie about any part. It was easy to talk about in some parts, difficult in others. Especially when she spoke of Kureo torturing her to get at Marcus and when she pulled off the glove. The expressions of the group varied throughout. Koma and Irimi were attentive or shocked, especially at the revelation of Marcus. Uta and Yomo were expressionless till the end. Kaneki was looking like he was trying to hide something. Yoshimura just remained pensive as he listened. They were all patient listeners and waited kindly as she soldiered though. Irimi even offered some kinds words when words had failed the teenage girl. As the violet haired girl finished, the room was filled with silence.

"So, Marcus is Xeno." Irimi restated breaking the silence. "That's almost hard to believe."

"But it makes sense. He joined us to make use of our packages but they haven't gone down any more than before he joined. I guess he never used them." Koma added.

Touka scoffed and said derisively. "That's because he was munching on other ghouls. Fucking psychopath."

Kaneki winced at that catching the high school girl's eye. As she looked between him and the manager, realization dawned on her. "You guys knew."

The half-breed looked away ashamed while the manager continued his pensive expression. Irimi and Koma looked at them in surprise. A snarl grew on the violet haired girl's face as she asked. "How long?"

The older ghoul answered first. "Since the moment he walked into the shop. I had… met him once before and I recognized his scent."

She looked at the college student expectantly. He was slower to answer. "He showed me when I nearly killed Hide. He was the one who knocked you out."

"Unbelievable. The one time he tells the truth it's to admit he kicked my ass." She looked around at everyone and asked with outrage filling her voice. "Who else knows?"

The only two people who have yet to make a comment raised their hand. Uta was the first to explain. "I knew as soon as he walked into my shop. I am a fourth ward inhabitant, have been all my life. I could tell by the way he acted and how he dressed. It was kind of a neon sign."

"I only had my suspicions." Yomo stated. "Not many can match me blow for blow, let alone injure me. If it wasn't for his inexperience he would've won. Besides after his arm broke didn't you say that he destroyed his cast to fight Nishiki?"

"Yeah, and?" The teenage girl crossed her arms.

"He did that two days after being injured. I had the same injury and I could barely move my arm after two days let alone break a cast." He explained before he gave her a scrutinizing stare. "Can you say for certain that when he said it hurt, he was telling the truth and wasn't acting?"

Touka gritted her teeth as she realized Yomo was right. Marcus had told her about the nature of his broken arm. She hadn't thought twice about it but that much damage, for it to heal enough to be used extraneously in two days was impossible. Even for a ghoul. Then there was fight with Yomo, both showdowns with the investigators. That damn jacket he always wore. All of his scars. He had all but told her who he was and she never noticed. She had been to caught up in enjoying his company that she missed all the signs. She got blindsided and she let it happened.

Touka slammed her fists onto the table in pure frustration, cracking the wood. "Damn it! I should have seen it!"

Irimi gave her a sympathetic glace before looking towards Yoshimura. There was a moment of silence before Yomo spoke up. "What are we going to do? He can't stay. He is a danger to both us and everyone in the twentieth ward. We also are the only people who know what he looks like. This may be the only chance anyone has to get rid of a nuisance to all ghouls. If he were to join with the CCG if he hasn't already. There would be two "reapers". We wouldn't stand a chance."

Koma and Irimi didn't respond thinking silently but silence could be taken as assent. Kaneki sent a worried glance to Yoshimura who shared it. This was starting to go downhill. Kaneki spoke up trying to be the voice of reason. "Let's give him a chance to at least plead his case before we go out and execute him."

" 'Give him a chance?' " Touka snarled before glaring at the half-breed. "He has killed over several hundred ghouls maybe even a thousand. Do you think he ever gave them a chance?"

"But…"

"If he's this strong now." The enraged high school student interjected. "Imagine how strong he will be later. He's already show an increase and could only get stronger."

"Let's listen to Kaneki." Irimi tried to calm things down but they escalated anyways.

"Guys…"

The black ops operator ignored the half-breed's attempt to speak in favor for his suggestion. "We should act now while we have the chance before he tries to act against us."

Growing tired of people not letting him speak his mind, the college cut off whoever was trying to speak next by shouting. "It's poisonous!"

Everyone stared at him in surprise at his sudden and unusual outburst. Irimi broke the pregnant silence first. "What's poisonous?"

The relatively new member to Anteiku blinked as he was suddenly the center of attention. He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Human flesh is poisonous to Marcus. He doesn't have a choice but to eat ghouls. That's not the only thing. He also has this presence in his head that pushes him to hunt and to kill. Sometimes it even takes over and controls his actions. He can't help but hunt otherwise he could go insane and hurt a lot of people."

Touka scoffed at that. "I almost forgot how gullible you are. To think you believed that. Bakaneki."

Yomo added on. "Besides if he can't control himself, all the more reason to hunt him down before he does some serious damage."

A chuckle rose from Uta as he shook his head. Yoshimura looked towards him, as much as one could with closed eyes, and said. "You've been quiet until now. Anything you would like to add?"

"Oh," Uta replied thoughtfully. "I was just wondering when we had become the CCG, that's all."

"Excuse me?" Touka asked just as stunned as everyone else at the goth's comment.

"Look at us." He responded gesturing to everyone. "We're bickering over killing someone just because of what he is, not who he is. Just like the doves."

"I know who he is." She countered. "He's Xeno. The No Eyed Demon of the fourth ward. He has a ghoul kill count that most investigators can't even hope to rival. He eats his own kind."

"Look at where he lived. The fourth and twenty-fourth wards. The most hostile places in Tokyo. You kill and eat to survive in those places. Both human and ghoul. As long as it meant living another day. Down there, there aren't many options. But is it nature or nurture?" The goth countered.

"What do you mean?" Kaneki asked.

The tattooed ghoul scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "Well, you know the age old question. What decides a person's personality and the way they act: the nature of their genetics or the nurture of their parents? It could be just like Kaneki says, nature has dictated that he can't eat human flesh and forces him to devour other ghouls with another personality, a more predatory one. Or could it be the nurture of living the harshest wards without family to protect him. The earliest reports of Xeno go back twelve years. That would make him six. A six year old boy living in arguably the harshest environment on earth. He should've died yet he still lives. He couldn't do that without disregarding morals and codes, and choosing to live by the rules of nature. The strong survive and the weak die."

"I can't argue with that." Koma agreed. "But he is clearly a Kakuja and the earliest reports also show that he already had his Kakuja form. That would mean he would have to be a Kakuja at the age of six and a full one at that. How?"

Yoshimura added in. "Kakujas are a mystery even to those who are them. His mother, his birth mother, may have been one herself. She may have continued to devour ghoul flesh while she was pregnant with him. It may be possible that he was born one."

"Nature or nurture." The goth repeated.

Touka crossed her arms annoyed and sat back in her seat. "So which one is it? Nature or nurture?"

"Nature." The half-breed assured. "Marcus told me all his abilities and his unique condition. He has all four kagune types."

"That's impossible." Yomo interjected.

The violet haired ghoul shook her head. Slowly starting to see Uta and Kaneki's point of view. "It's not. I saw them too. Bikaku, Rinkaku, Koukaku and Ukaku. They're all there."

"And he has an RC count of Twelve thousand. Way higher than the average ghoul." The dark haired student noted. "Plus there's his Ukaku. Before his shards fired in bursts like a shotgun, now they're the size of daggers and they explode. If he became the way he is because that's how he was raised then that would mean he learned those abilities. If they were teachable then we could've beaten the CCG ages ago."

"Good point." The mask maker agreed.

"If it is his nature and he's all that you say he is." The teenage girl stated. "Then what about this… other side? He may not be dangerous but it could be."

"Well, he ate at home most of the time but after a while his inner demon would start getting restless. Uh, the best way to describe it would be it would get cabin fever. It had been stuck too long and it would want out. Either he let it out or it would drive him insane with the urge to hunt. So he hunted every two weeks to keep it at bay." The nineteen year old folded his hands and rested his elbows on his knees before resting his chin on his hands.

Anteiku's information gatherer nodded. "That sounds about right. Most recent reports about him pop up about every two weeks."

"But I think something's changed."

"What makes you think that?" Irimi asked.

"Touka's description doesn't match what I saw that time with Hide and Nishiki." The half-breed explained. "He was much more predatory and animalistic. He also fought using more hunter like tactics. Evasive maneuvers, hiding then attacking from behind. Weakening the prey before dealing the final blow. You described it as direct, and hand-to-hand."

"Yeah. What are saying?" The girl with the unique colored hair asked.

"Well. A Kagune is directly linked to a ghoul's state of mind. That I can attest to personally. I couldn't really use Rize's till I thought like a ghoul. Something had to change with Marcus' relationship Xeno." He said remembering his fight against Amon.

"Maybe a Faustian Contract? He let Xeno have more control as long as he saved Touka and Hinami." The goth suggested.

The dark haired student nodded agreeably, sitting up. "Something like that. Yeah. That might be the reason why he hasn't come back yet. He's trying to figure out the price."

"Even if what he says is true, what are going to do about him?" Touka asked. "At this point I can't even till what's truth and lie."

Yoshimura defended. "To be fair, he never really lied just didn't disclose everything but you bring up a good point. When he joined I gave him a… let's call it a condition: if he were to harm you in any way, retaliation would be swift and deadly. It might be best if we keep that. Until we at least better understand his situation."

"What if his 'Faustian Contract' cost him his humanity and he's nothing more than a raging beast?" Yomo asked, hesitantly using the term set forth by Uta.

As everyone looked at him expectantly, Yoshimura thought about his reading of the Kakuja in question. "From what I read in his eyes and what I've seen in the month he's been with us, if he was ever aware of such a change happening he would ask us to put him down."

There was moment of grim silence before the Manager. "For now, let's make sure that when he comes back he feels welcome. He probably feels like an outsider and that he doesn't belong. We should let him know that's not true. Dismissed."

Everyone got up and went about their day. Anteiku went about finishing up closing the shop while Uta and Yomo left. One through the front and the other underground. Touka planned on heading home. It's been a few days over two weeks; they should be done fumigating her apartment. The thought of sleeping in her own bed would have been comforting if it wasn't for the interrupting thoughts about Marcus. She was partially convinced that he wasn't there to eat their livers with some fava beans and a nice chianti, though she was sure the thought had crossed his mind at least once. She also didn't like that other personality in the his head. It all made a weird kind of sense but what she couldn't figure out was why.

Why did he come here? Why integrate himself into Anteiku? It would have been better for him to stay hidden and undercover. Getting caught could literally mean having a mob sent after him. He's not exactly popular. It didn't make any form of sense. She wanted to figure out what he was thinking. Hell she wouldn't mind just figuring him out in general. Although she was too pissed to go up and talk to him. He left her out of the loop. He didn't trust her even though she trusted him. Asshole. She wasn't going to come running to him. If he wanted to mend things he was going have to come to her and apologize. It had better be a damn good one too. Maybe she would deny him at first and let him stew for a while in apprehension. Maybe even say "no" several times. Just to show the bastard.

Touka chuckled to herself. 'Guess it's true what they say, I am a vindictive bitch.'

"Sir!" Shouted a young spritely investigator as she ran up to her older partner. "Suspect's on the move!"

"All right. Tell Ilda to stay in him. Not even time to mourn." The older investigator grumbled before commanding. "Let's move."

Amon watched the two investigators move quickly towards the elevator from his desk. He was sent back to the Main Office after Kureo's death to await reassignment to another partner and with them another case. As the tall, dark haired investigator watched the duo move out, he felt a sense of nostalgia. It had been four years ago when he had been another nameless, green, rank 2 investigator. He had been young and naïve. When he first met his mentor, he was appalled by Kureo's behavior. Acting on hunches, the overall casual attitude towards his job and his eccentric obsession towards Quinques. Amon had actually thought his partner was a joke. Now, he respected the old man, especially after the elder Mado had saved Koutaro's life and proved that his methods work. Honestly, Amon missed him.

"Hey, big crybaby!" Shouted a familiar voice, jarring Amon out of his less than happy thoughts. Shinohara stepped up to the morose investigator with a teasing smile. "Crying like a little baby again?"

"Sir, please…" Begged the younger investigator, exasperated. This was Shinohara's favorite way to badger him.

"Need a drilling like back at the academy?" Laughed the once-mentor.

The longer haired investigator sighed. "No, sir."

Yukinori Shinohara used to be a teacher at the academy teaching Ghoul Combat Tactics. Amon was in the Special Investigator's class one year and had grown to respect him as a mentor much like the way he had with Kureo. The elder Mado had also spoken highly of him. They had trained and worked together long ago before Shinohara transferred over to reserve and started teaching. The younger investigator kept sporadic contact since his graduation. Mostly when the two experienced investigators got together to share a few drinks and some war stories. Last Koutarou had heard Shinohara was still teaching at the academy. If he's back in the main office he must be getting reassigned.

Shinohara quickly lost his positive attitude and took on a morose one. "I'm sorry about Mado. We were old friends."

Amon's head sunk slightly. "I know."

An investigator jogged up to them shouting. "Shinohara, sir! It's Juuzou again."

The older investigator sighed distressed "What did he do this time?"

"Are you back in the field?" Asked the more apprehensive of the two.

"Yeah. Between Knightmare and Aogiri the bigwigs are all in a fuss pulling as many people out of the reserve and private sectors into active duty as they can. Unfortunately, they stuck me with a huge pain in the ass. I should probably got going before said pain does anything else." Replied the kindhearted investigator as he stood up. "Also, Amon."

"Sir?"

"Mado was proud of you."

As Shinohara left to deal with his new partner, Amon rested his head on his arms and muttered to himself. "I know."

Amon attended Kureo's funeral later that day in Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, Japan's military cemetery located in the first ward. For the longest time CCG investigators were buried in civilian cemeteries but in 1982 it was declared that that fight against ghouls was intense enough to be called a war. So, the CCG was made into a branch of the military and thus gave the organization access to better funds, training and the honor of burying their dead in the historical cemetery.

Much to Amon's surprise there was large group of people attending Kureo's funeral. The old man may have had his quirks and infamous reputation as Quinque freak but he was well known as a good investigator. His fame had only spread more after his daughter had become one of the best investigators to graduate from the academy and join the team made of the best of the best led by none other the Reaper. Present was mix of a few older investigators who knew him personally and respected the fallen invested as a friend, with several younger investigators who knew his reputation and had looked up to him as the example of a good investigator. All came to pay their respects.

Amongst the mourning investigators was Shinohara standing next to Division One Chief Iwao Kuroiwa. Not to far from them was Akira. Amon did his best to stay hidden from her. He couldn't handle talking to her. Not here. He was Kureo's partner and thus was supposed to have his back but the younger investigator didn't. He was told to keep his distance, to set up a perimeter and wait. He had objected but did it anyways. If he had pushed the issue maybe the elder Mado would still be alive. It was his fault that her father was dead and he could not face her knowing that.

After the funeral everyone scattered to go home and only Amon and Akira lingered at the grave. A pregnant silence lingered between them but only the taller of the two was in any way nervous about it.

"It's not your fault, you know." Akira said suddenly. Amon looked at her in surprise. "How were you to know he would've been out matched? You followed orders and that's the best anyone can do in war. Even if you had followed him you may not have changed anything."

Amon expression became despondent. He knew she was right. Didn't mean it made him feel any way less guilty. "Yeah."

A hand was laid on her shoulder, she looked back to see it was Marcus his usual dark clothes and jacket. She hadn't expected him to be here. He hadn't been doing too well the past few weeks. Despite what she said he still blamed himself for Kureo's death. She thought that he wouldn't want to be here because of that. Also the large amount of armed investigators might have been a deterrent. Yet, he still came and she was glad for that. She was inches away from breaking down and probably couldn't hold it together without him.

The Kakuja looked towards the horizon where the sun was going and with it the temperature. He took off his jacket and threw it around her shoulders. "Here."

"Thanks." She pulled the jacket tight across her chest and looked towards Amon. "Dad had told me once that out of all of his partners you were his favorite. That's saying something considering he likes to work alone. Keep looking ahead. Don't get discouraged by his death. If you're half the investigator he thought you to be, you'll be okay."

Amon nodded. His moral restored. "Thanks for that."

"Of course." She said warmly before taking her leave with Marcus.

Amon turned towards Kureo's grave and the recently dug up earth. A fresh wave of emotions hit. Rage among but to be honest he also wanted to just breakdown and cry. However he couldn't do it. Akira was right, he had to keep going, keep fighting. It was like that favorite saying of his mentor. "When the enemy's before you, keep fighting even when you lose your arms and legs." Kureo had faith in Amon's abilities and the pupil couldn't let down the mentor. He had to live up to expectations. Otherwise, he wasn't honoring his partner's, his friend's memory.

Amon stepped forward, pulling the extra pair of white gloves that Kureo kept in his desk out of his pocket and laid it on top of the grave. "It was an honor working with you, Kureo Mado."

Touka twirled her pencil absentmindedly, staring blankly at the half heartedly written notes taken on whatever her teacher was talking about. She barely noticed the history lesson that was going on nor all the talking of the students in her class. Some whispered about menial things like new music videos coming out while others muttered about Kureo's death despite it being a week since the funeral.

It only made things worse for Touka as she couldn't stop seeing the old bastard every time they said something. She kept having flashes of Kureo clawing his way towards her in blind, dying conviction to use his last breath to act out his vengeance. She kept seeing that damn ring on his hand, reminding her of what she really did. With no word from Marcus since he disappeared, she has long lost the urge to be vindictive towards him. So, she couldn't focus on that anger to distract her from such images. It has put her in a somewhat depressed state for the last few days.

"Hey, Touka. Touka!" Whisper shouted a feminine voice beside her, trying to get the violet haired teen's attention before the teacher noticed.

Too late the teacher locked onto the spaced out girl like a guided missile and called out. "Ms. Kirishima!"

Startled, the ghoul in disguise squeaked slightly in surprise and responded quickly. "Yes?"

"Who led the Kansei reform in the eighteenth century?" The teacher asked crossing his arms.

Panicking on the inside, the violet haired girl racked her brain for the answer. She had difficulties finding one, as she wasn't paying attention two minutes ago when the teacher said the answer. So, she went with the first name that came to mind. "Oda Nobunaga?"

The class chuckled in unison at her totally wrong answer. Someone slammed their head against their desk in sheer disbelieve at the answer. The teacher sighed. "You're off. By several centuries. Pay more attention from now on."

"Yes, sir." She replied disconcerted slumping her cheek against her left fist.

"Hey, Touka." Said a soft voice. "What's up? You seem out of it."

Touka turned her head to look at her best friend of three years, Yoriko Kosaka. Yoriko has very soft features, the kind show off her very kind and pleasant personality. Her round eyes that held a rare color of green like fresh picked peas during harvest. Plump lips held a small, warm smile. Hazelnut hair was cut into a light chin length bob cut with blunt bangs. Kind of like a hime style haircut. She had a body that wasn't nothing to scoff at but it didn't break the necks of every boy that walked by. Actually, much to Touka's annoyance they gawk at her more than her human friend.

Which Yoriko assured was a good thing and that Touka needed a boyfriend. The hazelnut haired student annoyed her friend with her constant persistence about boyfriends. It was who she was. She was an outgoing personality who worried about her friends. She was caring and kind. She was the one human in the entire world the ghoul cared about.

"It's nothing," Touka dismissed assuring.

"Nothing?" Questioned Yoriko. "Oh, c'mon. You're acting strange and you seem distracted. If something's wrong, you can…"

Growing slightly annoyed by her friend's pestering. The ghoul hiding in plain sight groaned in frustration and shouted out. "I'm on my period, okay!"

"Oh, that explains it." Hazelnut haired student nodded nonchalantly as though it wasn't a personal piece of information that was declared to the world, seriously disturbing any nearby high school boys who did not need to hear it.

"You worry about too much about the tiniest things, Yoriko." Sighed the hotheaded teen.

"Do I?" Questioned the caring friend. "But it's so obvious with you.

The purple eyed student's head snapped up and looked the girl next to her indignantly and exclaimed. "Huh? What didja say?"

The bell rang signaling lunch.

"Oh! It's lunchtime." Exclaimed the green eyed girl ecstatically.

In a serious of swift, fluid, and joyful movement, Yoriko snatched her bento lunch box from underneath her desk and hopped over to the empty desk in front of Touka. She flipped the desk around so that the two high school girls were facing and planted herself in the seat. All with a warm smile. The more calmer of the two had been so used to her friend's gleeful behavior, she casually got her lunch box from under her desk and started opening it. So did the warmhearted student.

Much in the way the two of them were samples of contrasts in extrovert and introvert so were their lunch boxes. Touka's exampled a conservative style to lunch, a small box that held a jelly sandwich cut in half from corner to corner making a pair of triangles. While Yoriko's showed off extravagance with a home cooked Japanese Fried Chicken bento that included the fried chicken, obviously, seasoned steamed rice, some gyoza, pickled cucumber and mixed green salad. Which only made sense as the owner of the illustrious bento box was an inspiring cook.

As Touka lifted one of the sandwich triangles to take a bite out of it, Yoriko groaned. "A jelly sandwich again?"

"Is that a problem?" Questioned the disguised ghoul. "It's the easiest thing to eat."

Touka took a bite and hid the disgust. As exaggerated as Kaneki was about human food, he wasn't wrong either. The bread was like a sponge and the jelly was slime for all intents and purposes. However it was the least seasoned food she could go with that wouldn't attract attention to what she ate. While texture did play a lot in what ghouls thought about human food, the seasonings and flavorings humans loved to add to their dishes added insult to injury. It practically increased the horrible taste on an exponential level and it wreaked even more havoc on a lot ghoul's system. Gourmet food could make a ghoul sick for days.

Yoriko shook her insistently and stated. "You're a growing girl. You need to eat something more nutritious! Here!"

A piece of chicken was plucked out of the box and held out to Touka who tried to minimize her cringe to microscopic levels. "Seriously?"

The human girl's face took on a playful expression and she said in a sing-song. "C'mon. Eat it."

"Fine…" The violet haired student sighed in defeat taking a moment to steel herself for the taste. Then she quickly snatched it into her mouth and started chewing.

"I changed the seasoning a bit. Seeing how I could change the flavor without going too overboard." The cooked explained. The ghoul swallowed and stayed silent. Both worried and expectant the human asked. "Well?"

With a smile, the hotheaded girl reached across the desks and promptly teasingly flicked her friend in the forehead who exclaimed in mock pain. The taste tester kicked back in her seat and nonchalantly gave her review. "It's good."

The hazelnut haired student said self-consciously. "You're just saying that to be nice."

"No, it really is!" Lied the disguised ghoul enthusiastically.

"Really?! Thanks!" her human friend replied gleefully. Then a mischievous smile slid onto her face and she rested her elbows on the desk and leaned forward. "Now then, in exchange for that chicken tell me what's up with you?"

Touka squinted her eyes at her friend skeptically. "Clever girl."

Said clever girl just grinned. "I know. So, what's up?"

Touka sighed. In all actuality she didn't need to tell her anything. Her issues were not worth a one inch piece of chicken but it was a something of a game between them. Ever since Yoriko did that with her on the first day they had lunch together. Usually the ghoul would throw some kind of quip about how chicken doesn't equal her talking about her issues. However this time she might take the offer. Yoriko was a sentimental soul, she had a great gift for understanding someone else's point of view. She might be able to help the ghoul better know Marcus and his intentions. Besides it would give her something else to think about other than Kureo's bloodied and mad expression.

"Well," Touka said hesitantly, trying to stay as ambiguous as possible. "There is an issue with one of my coworkers."

Yoriko cut in guessing. "It's that British guy you mentioned awhile back, Marcus. It is isn't it?"

The violet haired girl sighed. "Yes, It's Marcus."

"Knew it." The aspiring cook smiled smugly, picking a up another piece if chicken with her chopsticks and eating it.

"Anyways." The ghoul continued. "He told me that he had spent most of his childhood in the streets in the fourth ward but what he didn't tell me was that he did things, bad things during that time. I found out about it a few weeks ago."

The hazelnut haired girl shrugged. "What's wrong with that? I haven't been there but I heard that the fourth ward are practically slums."

"There isn't anything wrong. I mean there is. I mean-" The disguised ghoul growled frustratingly. "That's not the problem. The problem is that he told my other coworker and my boss and had asked them not to tell me. He was all but lying to my face every time I talked to him. I was mad at him after I found out but that was three weeks ago and there has been no sign of him. I don't know whether I'm angry or depressed. I don't know what I'm angry at: him not telling me or him letting my find out instead of telling me to my face. It's just confusing. Frustratingly so."

The human took on an unusually serious face, set her chopsticks down on her bento, and beckoned her friend closing with her finger. The hotheaded girl leaned closer confused only to receive a bop on the forehead with her friend's palm. She jerked back and exclaimed indignantly. "Hey, what's that for?"

"I forgot how dense you can be at times." The usually bubbly girl sighed wearily, picking up her chopsticks again and eating a clump of seasoned rice.

The purpled eyed ghoul asked a bit sourly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Look," The green eyed girl said matter of factly gesturing with her chopsticks to emphasize the point. "I may not have an extensive experience with boyfriends but I have been around boys in general long enough to know that girls' opinions matter. Boys really fret about what girls think about especially the ones who are close. Be friend or girlfriend. If I had to guess he didn't tell you because he was worried about what you thought about him. It might actually be worse for him. If he really did do bad things while he was on the streets then he probably feels different, lonely. Then when you guys became friends your opinion of him became the most important one in the world. He became afraid of your reaction to tell you so he kept it a secret."

Touka blinked confusedly for second before saying, "So, he didn't tell me because he didn't want to hurt my feelings."

"Well, Yes and no." Yoriko responded twirling a piece of gyoza. "He probably was worried about hurting you but he also worried about being hurt himself. He could've thought that he wouldn't be able handle you rejecting him. So he kept quiet."

"So, why didn't he just tell me sooner? There would've been less fuss that way." The ghoul asked.

The hazelnut haired girl responded. "He wanted to. But he might have been too scared so he kept putting it off. Every day that passed he knew that it would make the whole thing harder but just couldn't do it."

"So, what should I do? Just forgive and forget?" The purple haired teen asked grumpily.

"Nuh-uh." The kind hearted teen. "He didn't trust that you would be understanding enough to tell you. Friends, especially best friends tell each other everything. He didn't do that. Don't let him forget. However, show him that you understand and are willing to try again. He's just gotta work for it."

"So do what I already planning on doing." The disguised ghoul summed up sarcastically. "Nice advice."

"Well, do it more nicely but yeah." The green eyed girl confirmed with a smile

The violet haired girl chuckled. "Thanks."

"Anytime." The aspiring cook plucked another piece of chicken and held it out to her friend. "Now, open wide."

As Touka snatched the fried meat with her teeth and ate it, she thought. _Why do I do this to myself._

Lunch ended as classes went on usual until the end of the day. Yoriko had run off to get her gym clothes leaving Touka alone to walk outside. The hazelnut haired student had made to the locker rooms and packed her gym clothes into her bag and quickly ran to catch up with her friend so that they could walk together. She made it to the courtyard without any sight of the ghoul. Either the hazelnut haired student missed her or she got there first. The latter would not be surprising considering that the violet haired girl always struggled to get through the miles in P.E.. It was all those jam sandwiches, if she ate more properly she wouldn't have as many problems.

As Yoriko looked around checking to see if her friend waiting at the gate or walking up, her eyes locked on to a heart throb of a teen. He had on a black bomber jacket over dark jeans, and a grey button up t-shirt. He had wild but reigned in, wind tossed hair with his clothes gave him a real bad boy look. Maybe a bad boy trying to be good which is even better. His captivating green eyes had soft kindness to them that was hidden slightly by them staring at the ground blankly. He was leaning against the wall of the courtyard near the gate, feet crossed and thumbs tucked into the pockets of his jeans. One finger tapped nervously.

He was obviously waiting on someone. Yoriko gazed around to see who it was. Her only results were the many girls in the yard practically drooling at the sight of him. He did kind of beat practically all the hottest boys in the school. It must've been his foreign features. Seeing no one walk up to the stranger. The kind hearted girl decided to walk up and ask. She'll liked helping people and if they just happened to be a cool drink of water all the better.

Yoriko walked up to him and said happily. "Excuse me." He didn't answer so she leaned over slightly so she was in his peripheral. "Hello."

His gaze shifted over to her and he jerked back blinking surprised and he hesitantly replied feeling slightly awkward. "Uh, hey."

She straightened, seeing that he was uncomfortable so she smiled warmly. "Are you a new student?"

"Uh, no." He was more confident now. "I'm home schooled."

"Well, nothing's wrong with that. So, whatcha here for?" She asked.

He scoffed derisively. "I would say I'm waiting for someone, but honestly I have no bloody clue what I'm doing. She probably won't even talk to me."

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try." The hazelnut haired girl supported.

A faint smile flickered on his face. "I guess not."

She held out a hand. "Yoriko Kosaka."

"Marcus Mado." He shook it with a gentle grip. He had to be careful with his strength especially in his state. He noticed a subtle mix of both surprise and recognition in her eyes. He frowned and brought his hand back to his pocket. "You wouldn't happen to be a friend of Touka?"

"Yep and she told me what's going between you too." She answered, adjusting her bag.

He winced. "How mad is she?" Any idea that Yoriko knew the full extent of what was going on barely even grazed his thoughts. Even if her statement could seem like that. Touka was too concerned with secrecy. Not even her only real friend could get her to tell.

"From what I saw today, not too much. Better than a week ago. Though if you waited too long she would've gotten more angry. She's like that." The kind girl explained. Saying the last part in a between-you-and-me tone.

"That she is." A light chuckle left his mouth. Then a worried expression grew on his face. "Any suggestions?"

"The truth always helps." She said with a knowing smirk.

"Yes, it does help." Stated a harsh feminine voice.

Yoriko and Marcus turned to see Touka standing a few feet away, leaning most of her weight on one leg, her arms crossed and she looked less than pleased. She had left her lunch bag in the classroom and went back to get it. When she came to the courtyard knowing her friend would wait for her the last thing she had expected to see was Marcus talking to her best friend. Whatever vestiges of anger was left in her had rekindled and intensified into absolute rage at the sight. If she had even the slightest bit less self control she would've killed him on the spot. Secret be damned. Only Yoriko's proximity kept him from being mauled.

Yoriko, who was 'lucky' enough to be between them, quickly understood what it was like to stand at ground zero. She said calmly, trying to clear the firing range "Hey, I'm going to head home. Later, Touka."

"Later." Touka replied barely containing her anger. Her furious gaze never leaving the cause of her outrage.

"Thanks." Marcus expressed his gratitude to kind hearted girl.

She smiled and offered. "Good luck." Before walking away.

He turned back to the enraged girl in front of him. Her glare had intensified more to where it was like a laser burning into him. She snarled. "This way, now."

She stalked through the front gate. He sighed begrudgingly and muttered to himself before following her. "Yea, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for Touka art with me and she be more terrifying."

Touka led Marcus several blocks away from the from the school and any witnesses. As it was, there would whispers and rumors about the two of them for weeks. He didn't complain or whine, as a matter of fact he didn't do anything but do as she said. He on thin ice over hot water. Doing anything but what she said would be bad. Which is an understatement. She turned down one alley before turning down another. Now they wouldn't be caught by any passersby. She stopped in the middle of the alley keeping her back to him. He stopped a respectful distance of a few feet. Nothing moved in the alley.

Touka turned sharply, closed the distance and slugged him. She held nothing back, not even her ghoul abilities. Her eyes glowed with the crimson of Kakugans and her rage. Yoriko's advice of being nice was gone from her head. He could've stopped it. In her anger, she had let the punch be telegraphed. He had seen the punch coming from so far away it had a return address. He knew five moves that could discourage her from hitting him again, three that could break her arm and one that could kill her, but he let her hit him. Countering would only wound her pride and make her more angry. As it was, she was going to be pissed. The swing only jerked his head to the side and made him stumble a few steps. If Yomo allowed a punch like this to hit him it would give him a good concussion or even knock him out.

Marcus dabbed a finger where he felt a sting of pain on his lip and looked at it. There was some blood on it. She split his lip. He said acceptingly. "I deserved that."

"Damn right you did." Touka snarled, rubbing her wrist. She sprained it when she punched him pissing her off more. "Don't talk to Yoriko."

"To be fair she talked first and I had no idea she was your friend until she said so." He arbitrarily corrected. She slugged him again in the other side of the face with similar results. "Deserved that one too."

She didn't dignify him with a response and just crossed her arms, asking with a harsh tone. "What do you want?"

He rubbed his eye where he felt a bruise forming. Then he dropped his hands in defeat and sighed. "It's worst place to start but I don't think there's a better one. I'm sorry."

The violet haired ghoul looked like she was ready to throw another swing but she held back. Things were going to get nowhere if she kept hitting him every other sentence. Besides, she might end up more hurt than him. "And?"

"I lied to you. I get that." He explained. "You put your trust in me, something that's hard for you to do. I disgraced that by lying to you by keeping secrets, then I went further and told Kaneki, not you. You trusted me but I didn't trust you when I should've, but I wanted know what it was like to be with other ghouls, to feel normal in some form. However I was also thinking of survival. I couldn't just tell anyone. I don't have the best reputation."

She gave a contemptuous laugh. "You did 'just tell anyone.' You told Kaneki."

"He's new to the ghoul community, so he wouldn't know my reputation as well. He would have the most objective view." The not-so-secret Kakuja rationalized, desperately.

"He may be a ghoul but he's also human. You trusted a human over me!" She countered, her hands going to her sides and clenching into fists. It was taking everything she had not to beat him into the ground.

"I'm sorry!" The desperation was growing in his voice. He was starting to lose control. "Look, I thought I was feeling emotions when I wasn't, but everything's different now."

"Is that so?" She asked with skepticism and sarcasm before scoffing. "Don't even know why I bothered. All I've heard is shit I already knew and excuses."

"Please." He all but begged.

"Just go away. I don't want to talk anymore." She growled before turning and walking away.

"No, Touka. Wait!" He cried out, leaping forward and grabbing her arm.

Angered, offended and reacting on instinct, Touka turned sharply while batting his hand away and she got ready to pound him into the pavement. She ground to a halt when she saw that he was crying. Not just a few tears. They were practically rivers. His eyes were red and splotchy, and filled desperation, hopelessness, agony, grief. Just emotional pain. Lots of it. She stood there frozen in shock. She had not honestly expected him to just start crying. It looked alien on him. He only ever expressed happiness around her and grim seriousness those few times. Sadness just didn't belong on him. He was just too happy of a person.

Noticing the wetness on his face, Marcus wiped the tears away and rubbed his eyes grumbling. "Goddammit, I hate this. Get a hold of yourself."

'He's mad at himself for crying?' She asked herself

Then a thought came to her. She remembered when they discussed Marcus' scars and the time he spent on the streets. When she was most open to him, him to her. She had said that he had seemed to have been mentally unscathed from his life in the fourth ward. What if her initial assessment was wrong. Uta had said that the only way Marcus could've survived in the fourth ward as long as he did was to let go of morals. Maybe he did that more literally. What if he turned off his emotions and only thought logically? Such a thought really brought all her conversations with the Kakuja into question, but she digressed. The best explanation for his actions now would be that his emotions somehow got turned on. So many years of repressed emotions plus whatever he was feeling at the moment were all coming to him at once. The fact he wasn't a complete wreck seemed miraculous but maybe that's what took him so long. He was trying to get a handle on things. Another realization she gleamed of this theory: if she wanted the most honest answer from him this was her time. He didn't have enough of a hold on his emotions to give a good lie.

Marcus was able to stop the tears and look into her eyes with expectation, worry and a hint of hope. Touka looked back with scrutiny searching for any signs of falsehood as she asked. "Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

His mouth opened to answer but his voice failed him and he closed it. He gaze left hers and began flickering around for an answer. Why didn't he tell her? The first answer that came to mind was the one he told her earlier but deep down he knew that wasn't right. If that was case then why didn't he tell her? He honestly didn't know and Touka saw. He was an open book to her. She could see the internal struggle as he tried to answer her question. She could see him looking back at his interactions with her trying come up with an answer. He tried speaking again but nothing came out. He couldn't say what he wanted to.

When Marcus' voice finally seemed to work he said, slowly and hesitantly before saying with conviction. "Because… I… I didn't want you to hate me."

'Wow. Yoriko was right.' Touka immediately thought. She had planned on not telling him that he was welcome back to the shop but it didn't fell right anymore. She had to leave. Seeing him in such a state was really sapping at her ability to stay angry at him. She turned and started walking away, stating quickly. "We discussed it at Antieku and you're welcome to come back anytime."

"Wait!" He cried out again stopping her. "Does that mean you forgive me?"

"Hell no!" She responded harshly and looked back to give a glare. She immediately regretted that. The expression of hurt on his face made her feel like she was kicking a puppy, so she amended keeping her voice low and saving as much of her pride as possible. "But, maybe in the future."

A glimmer of hope and happiness flickered across face. Now, she really had to get out of there before she tried adopting him. 'Damn you for being cute.'

Akira rolled a stiff shoulder trying to loosen it up. Arima hit a what could only be called a case binge and did fifteen cases in a single day. Most of the team was coincidentally not in work today for various reasons leaving her and one other poor sap to do the according paperwork. He was so slow about it too. Only managing to do four while she did eleven. To add onto to that particular headache. She's been worried about her adopted son. She couldn't help but wonder how he was able to handle being around Touka. Especially considering his recent emotional problems. She wondered if he was able to keep calm when he talked to her.

Akira walked up to her apartment door looking forward to a hot shower and maybe a shoulder rub if she could convince him into it. Such thoughts were dashed however when she heard the near obnoxiously loud sound of something hitting wood hard. Probably the fists and forearms of an angry Kakuja. She opened the unlocked door and confirmed her guess. Marcus was in dining room area shirtless and pounding away at the Wing Chun dummy, keeping to form but pounding away. He's been practicing on the dummy frequently lately to vent his newly risen and intensified anger. Which has resulted in some considerable damage to it. She saw a broken peg on the floor already and cracks forming in the new one. Making it the fourth one this week.

Akira kicked off her shoes, placing them by the door inside before going in herself and greeting. "Hey there."

Marcus landed one more strike on the dummy before leaning against it, his breathing slightly heavier, a light sheen of sweat on his skin. He replied spiritlessly. "Hey."

The investigator set her bag down on the island in the kitchen and walked over to him. Grabbing a towel that was laying on one of the chairs on her way. She handed him to him saying. "Here."

"Thanks." He mumbled taking the towel and wiping his face before sitting down against the wall.

She sat down next to him as best she could in the pencil skirt. She should really invest in combat skirts. A moment of silence was given to him to rest up and calm down before she asked carefully. "So, how did it go?"

"Terrible." The ghoul responded angrily then corrected less certainly. "I think?"

The surrogate mother raised an eyebrow in true Spock fashion. "You think?"

"I don't know. I mean I'm not sure if she really hates me anymore or not." He grunted in frustration before thumping his head against the wall. "She was so much easier to understand when I wasn't a fucking emotional wreck."

"Look, start at the beginning. How'd it go?" She asked and he told her the whole story. Afterwards she paused in thought before stating. "She said in the future so there's hope."

"I know but, dammit, it didn't go like how I wanted it to." He exclaimed despairingly.

"You honestly thought that she would forgive you that easily?"

"Well, yes. No. Maybe. I kinda hoped." He mumbled a bit dejected and shrunk in on himself shyly bringing his knees to his chest,

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Sorry but girls are a little more complicated than that."

"I hate this. I don't like it when she hates me. It sucks. This entire thing sucks. I feel out of control. I'm either on the verge of breaking down, putting my fist through a wall or laughing my ass off simultaneously. I can't think properly. I was barely able to talk to Touka and I still broke down. I didn't want her to see that, dammit!" The Kakuja exclaimed distressed, running his hands through his hair before grabbing fistfuls as he tried to resist the wave of frustration, anger, and a combination of resentment and pity towards himself.

"Hey, hey. Shhh." The blonde cooed softly wrapping an arm around him and pulled him close. He squirmed slightly under her touch, fighting the contact before relaxing.

Akira recognized the episode, if that was what it could be called. Not long after he had returned home, Marcus had an episode like this where he just shut down. He had became so overcome with emotion, he couldn't deal with it and refused to do anything for an hour but sit in his room curled up kind of how he was now. Unlike now, she couldn't comfort him. He recoiled at any contact almost throwing her across the room. Until he recovered all she was able to do was look into what was wrong with her son. Despite having little to go on she found rather quickly. He was dealing with episodes of sensory overload. It's when the senses are being overstimulated and the body reacts in a way to distance itself from the stimulant. It didn't quite resemble what was happening to him but it was close enough to try to help him.

"Look, there's still a chance." Akira assured rubbing his arm. "All you got to do is keep trying and she'll forgive you. As for what's going on with you we'll get through it together and the others at Anteiku will help too. Just have patience and work through it. Okay?"

Marcus nodded wiping at his eyes, catching the tears before they fell. "Okay."

"Here, I have something for ya." She got up and walked to the bedroom, coming out with a guitar case. He looked at confusedly so she explained. "Well, you have such a beautiful voice and I didn't want you to waste it so I got you this so that you could give music making a shot. I was gonna give it to you for your birthday in a month but then this came up and I was thinking. Instead of trying to control your emotions, express them, get it out of your system."

"That makes sense, I guess." He replied taking the offered guitar case.

He set it on the floor and opened it. His eyes ignored the lesson books, and the receipt for a music maker program and locked onto the black finish acoustic guitar. Marcus picked it up with a gentleness that the instrument deserved, his gaze caressing every inch of the black surface. Akira's heart all but soared at the enamored look he gave it. For some reason he thought the guitar was beautiful, most beautiful thing he saw, second to her of course. Most likely it was his highly emotional state that was talking but when he strummed a few notes it left a satisfying ring.

A genuine smile slid in his face and Marcus said kindly. "Thanks, mom."

"Of course, newt." Akira leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead. He didn't object to his nickname. "Now, go take a shower. You stink."

"Of course." He responded putting the guitar back in the case before closing it.

she stepped back so that Marcus could get up and go to his room. Before he vanished into his bedroom she called out. "Happy birthday."

He looked back long enough to say, "Thanks."

Seeing happiness after weeks of depression lifted a worrying weight of her heart. She felt she might be able to rest easy tonight knowing that he would rest easy too.

* * *

 ** _15,440 words_**

 ** _GOMEN NASAI!_**

 ** _I've broken my promise not to vanish for three months. I really have no excuse for taken close to four months to release this peashooter of a chapter. I just had issues getting this one out. So, I'm sorry._**

 ** _With that I take my break. It'll last the rest of February through till the end of March. I'll release a teaser that'd put me back on the clock. Just to restate, this break is to plan out the story some more, do some maintenance, and revise the some of the previous chapters. Also, this chapter made me realize that I might've burnt myself out on shivering grasp. This break would allow me to recharge and get back in top shape._**

 ** _So, a few things I would like from you guys. Criticize what I've got so far, tell me what's good, what's bad and what can be done better. Pitch some ideas too. Any ideas you've got for the story. I consider all ideas. PM me or put into a review, choice is yours._**

 ** _Also, when the characters are saying something in their head. Which do you prefer,_** _this_ ** _or_** 'this'

 _ **I'm thinking of starting a forum for shivering grasp so that i could keep y'all updated on the progress of the next chapter. That way you won't have to wait several months to hear from me, and you could pitch ideas easier or whatever use we think of for it. Would like your thoughts on it.**_

 _ **I'm also thinking of changing the title again. Sorry changing it constantly like this but i'm havingnissues settling on a single titles. Any ideas? I think of a few and put up a poll or something. Maybe put it on the forum if we decide to go for it.**_

 ** _Reviews:_**

 _ **Twain Apprentice:**_

 _ **Thanks as always for reviewing, glad you liked it. Hope you like Devils do cry.**_

 _ **stormANDjessi-626:**_

 _ **Hey no, it's cool, I was late myself, so I guess we even. Glad you thought it was amazing hopefully you'll think this one is, too.**_

 _ **Thanks for your time.**_

 ** _See you later._**


	12. So it begins

Karube unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped in. It had been a slow day at work and she looked forward to her bed. She closed the door and relocked it. A light breeze touched her back which was weird because she hadn't left the window open when she left this morning. She turned around and there, sitting on the windowsill was a man. He was wearing a rich purple suit with a crimson undershirt. His hair was an unusual blue.

"What the…?" She exclaimed shocked. "How did you get in? I'm going to call the police!"

"My apologies for barging in so rudely. Please, calm down, Karube." He had a light French accent even though he was clearly Japanese.

"H-how do you know my name?" She stammered in fear, falling to the floor and backed up to the door.

He replied with a purr. "I don't want to have violently don't but if you call the police then someone will turn up dead. Karube Misono, who works at the café in front of the station."

"Are you insane?" she asked feared embedded in her voice. Her eyes like saucers.

The man hopped off the ledge and started stalking towards her. "Your eyes are sepia. They have a lovely gradation."

* * *

On a run down building in the eleventh ward, Eto sat on the edge of the builder crossed legged and with her cheek resting on a fist. She yawned. "How many do we have?"

Tartara stepped up beside her and answered. "One hundred and fifty-eight and more are coming."

"I wish that they would just get here already so that way the doves will see us. All this waiting is so boring." She pouted in a manner much befitting her childlike stature.

"It shouldn't be that much longer. A few more weeks and they'll come. Just be patient." He reasoned in his emotionless tone.

She sighed despairingly. "How goes our other project?"

"They're still looking for her but it seems that she has seemingly vanished off the face of the earth."

Her head started to droop in defeat. "Do you have any good news?"

"Our scouts have studied the facility and have valuable information. When the time comes we'll be able to infiltrate it with ease." Said the taller ghoul.

"That's something at the least." She mumbled to herself. She stood and dusted off the skirt of her cloak before saying aloud, looking towards the Tokyo city skyline. "Well, here's hoping that time will come sooner than later."

* * *

"I was just saying, when cooking "Roast Pork, Just kidding" you have to be careful about the bacon. If there's too much grease then the potatoes will soak up that instead of the flavor and it ruins the dish." The young gentleman said to his date.

"I see. that's tricky." The boyfriend nodded. Then his attention was taken away by the horror scene shambling towards them. "Oh my god."

The other boy looked and took an instinctive step back as Karube stepped towards them. Her eyes were just gone, replaced by bloody sockets. Blood streamed down her cheeks like tears. The world was naught but black to her. She took slow shambling steps, her arms outstretched in front of her trying to feel her way to help.

"Someone." Karube pleaded. "P-please. Help me."

Several other passersby stopped to watch the mutilated woman but none helped, too horrified to even approach her. Some even had the nerve to take out their phone and record her.

"I-I can't see! My eyes. He took my eyes! Help me!" Her voice cried out. She could hear the people watching her and whispering to each other but why weren't they helping her!

A pair of comforting arms wrapped around her. A soothing feminine voice spoke with slight Russian accent cooed. "There now. It'll be alright. You're safe."

At the bystanders were shocked at how this foreigner had calmly stepped up to victimized Karube and took her in her arms. Ignoring the blood that was staining her clothes.

The Russian woman looked the couple who first saw the girl and ordered, her ice blue eyes piercing, appearing silver in the low light of the crescent moon. "Call an ambulance, now!"

"Y-yes, ma'am." Said the cook fearfully as he pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

Another foreigner, this one of Hispanic descent, stepped up to the Russian and whispered to her in English with an American accent. "Ma'am, we should really get going. We have things to do."

"We can at least wait for the ambulance, no?" She countered.

"Err. Of course." He replied before taking off his jacket. "Use this to staunch the bleeding."

The woman lowered to the ground sitting Karube in her lap. She shifted her blonde hair so it didn't fall into the open eye sockets and hurt the poor girl more. She took the offered jacket and pressed it to injury. The girl winced and the Russian murmured comfortingly speaking Japanese again. "I know. I know. It hurts but helps on the way. We'll get you some bandages and some anesthesia. Alright?"

Karube just nodded numbly. A few moments passed and sirens started to near. The mutilated woman then asked softly. "Will I ever see again?"

The Russian clenched her teeth in anger before calming and responding. "No. I'm sorry."

The girl started weeping which only made the pain worse. The blonde had done her best not to go and hunt down the man who did this. She was certain who did it, too. Unfortunately, there were things that needed to be done. Besides, she could have more luck finding him with the full resources of Knightmare. In reality, she shouldn't devote resources like that but this was wrong and had to be taken care of. Not only did it satisfy the vengefulness inside of her but it also would take great steps in giving her a good foothold in the talks with Marcus. Nonetheless, Knightmare would not ignore this, if they ignored this then it would betray the foundation that they were built on. There would be retaliation. Both for the man who did this and those who gathered in the eleventh ward.

This war has gone on for long enough.

* * *

 _ **All right here is the teaser for the continuation of my story.**_

 _ **I've got nothing for a new title yet, please speak up if you got anything.**_

 ** _Didn't get anything as to a response to the idea of a forum solely based for this, but it sounds too good of an idea to pass up._**

 ** _I'll start it up tomorrow. I'll put the link on my profile and on this chapter.  
_**

 ** _Also to note, I was saddened by the lack of reviews for my last chapter but I do realize there was a lack of quality in the last one. Especially when Marcus confronted Touka. I also do not expect you to review every chapter that would be unrealistic. I've read back several chapters and realized there are many grammar mistakes as well as typos. So with every new chapter will come an edited old chapter. some parts will be rewritten to improve quality as well as connect plot points._**

 ** _Anyways, I'm back and all see you in a month ideally._**


	13. Dinner Party

_**I suggest going back and rereading Devils Do Cry. As I made some changes that are referenced here.**_

* * *

"Have you been keeping up your training?" Touka asked as she hopped off the ladder that led to Anteiku's training area/escape route. She dusted off her light blue blouse and dark harem shorts.

Kaneki got off the ladder answering. "Yeah, I've been jogging at night. It feels good to exercise."

"Oh, yeah?" She turned and drove her fist into his stomach. He dropped to the ground, gasping for air. She had to admit, he did lose most of the fat he had before but now there was nothing that could absorb the blow. "You need to bulk up. The surviving doves are gonna be better prepared next time. They'll be sending guys that'll be even tougher. I need to get stronger too."

Kaneki was able to compose himself as she talked and he frowned. _She's still taking that day pretty hard._

"You're lucky. You've got Rize's Kagune." She stated, walking over to the light switch and turning on the lights.

"About that…" He said uncertainly, he remembered the feeling of being taken over, of not having control of mind and body. "I want to avoid relying on my Kagune as much as possible from now on. I don't think it's wise to use a power I can't control."

"I thought you had control of it." The violet head queried, crossing her arms.

"I did or thought I did. It may have been a false control, to lure me into using the power so it could take over." He stared absentmindedly into the ground as he rubbed the palm of his hand as he was lost in the memory falling to his instincts. "I'm not worthy of using it at the moment. It'll be too late when I damage it or break it, or worse lose control and can't come back. I also feel bad being helped by others all the time."

She listened quietly before questioning, "Then what? You gonna fight with your bare hands from now on?"

"I wanna fight like you. Like when you stomped Nishio. How you went, whoop whoop… not hurting them more than you had to." He waved his hands enthusiastically in something that was supposed to look like martial arts. He just ended up looking like an idiot, as always.

"What a waste." She sighed. A lot could've gotten done this session. All her muscles were back in peak condition and she wanted a warm-up but now she was gonna have to show this rookie exactly what kind of investment learning hand-to-hand was. She stretched her arms over her head and said matter of factly. "If you wanna be like me, you should at least be able to do a backflip."

"A-A backflip?!" he exclaimed in shock.

Yomo walked through the tunnels, wearing his usual clothing: dark pants, white shirt covered by a dark hooded long coat. Hanging on one shoulder was a duffle bag filled with the fruits of another food run. He walked into the cavern that led to the underground entrance for Anteiku and stumbled upon a scene of comedy. Touka and Kaneki were back to back as she bent over at the waist, close to parallel with the ground. She kept the half-breed to her back by holding their arms over their heads.

Meanwhile, the soft-hearted rookie to the ghoul world flailed about, kicking his legs wildly in fear of falling. His black and green shirt was bunched up showing his untrimmed stomach and his khaki pants avoided bunching up too thanks to his panicking. He pleaded. "D-don't let go!"

"Shut up." She mocked. Then something shifted and there was a loud pop from Kaneki's back his panicked expression was replaced with one of pain. Touka noticed the new arrival and casually greeted. "Yomo. Good evening."

"What kinda game are you guys playing?" Yomo asked calmly.

"We're training." She answered then added on. "To do a backflip."

"Touka, I'm gonna fall!" The college student groaned alarmingly.

No sooner than when he said it he fell. Kaneki fell off her back and slammed face first to the ground. Touka apologized nonchalantly. "Oops, sorry."

The white-haired ghoul dropped the bag and said. "Ken."

"Y-Yes? What is it?" The inexperienced ghoul groaned in pain.

"You're good at dodging but you're terrible at everything." Anteiku's combat expert analyzed.

"Okay."

"Stand up. Try to hit me." He commanded as he took off his coat.

"What?" The college student blurted but stood anyway. _Hit him? Where? How? But I guess I shouldn't hold back._

Touka sat crossed legged, content with watching the show. She already knew how this was going to end.

"Okay then, if you say so!" Kaneki declared as he moved to punch his sparring partner.

Yomo could already see it coming; the declaration just made it worse. He parried the fist with overwhelming ease. "If you miss, quickly make your next move."

Doing as instructed, the half-breed swing with his other fist which was avoided too when Anteiku's black ops member dropped low to the ground. "Use your legs."

Again doing as told, the college student swung his leg high and dropped it onto his opponent. Like the past attempted attacks, this one did not fare well. The white haired ghoul blocked the blow with his arm then he grabbed Kaneki's leg. Before the dark-haired student could react, the eldest ghoul present pushed on the leg causing the boy to lose his balance and fall flat on his ass.

"You're not using your hips and you've got no weight behind your punches." Yomo chastised while he stood up and stepped away several paces. Then he turned to Touka and commanded. "You too."

"Brings back memories: you training me." She stood, a faint smile forming on the teenage girl's face. There was an air of cockiness as she dusted herself off and cracked her fingers by stretching out her arms with her palms facing out and fingers weaved together. "Both of us at the same time?"

He didn't answer, just waited patiently.

"That look. You want us to just go for it, don't ya?" She crouched low by the still floored half breed and said. "Get up, and try to at least land a punch."

Touka wasted no more time. She moved quickly, closing the distance with a whisper of footsteps. Kaneki followed as quickly as he could but in comparison with the ukaku ghoul, he was a bumbling toddler. She swung a right hook that Yomo dodged easily but she knew that would happen. At this time Kaneki was coming in with a punch of his own. The white haired ghoul grabbed the half-ghoul's limb and pulled it forward and up while he ducked his head. Thus when the tomboy came around with reverse roundhouse kick as she had planned, it connected with the bookworm's face instead of her intended target. The poor college student was thrown back and the violet-haired ghoul was surprised by where attack hit. Before she could say, "Oops." The back of her opponent's fist slammed into her forehead and threw her back a few steps.

Yomo stood again and critiqued in his usual bland tone. "If you're going to train him, teach him the fundamentals. And stop eating things you don't have to. It's slowing you down."

Touka glowered and looked away. She knew he was right. Yoriko's been trying out a lot of new recipes and been using the hothead as her guinea pig. As always the ghoul had issues denying her friend. It was unhealthy for her but she liked the way the human glowed every time she reviewed a new dish. It was just one of those things she couldn't help.

Kaneki was frustrated yet unsurprised. They didn't stand a chance against Yomo. The skill gap was simply too great. Though Kaneki swore that Touka was much stronger. When she hit him in the gut before Yomo showed up, somehow he felt that was weaker than the punch she hit him with when they were training for the investigators. She could've held back today but she doesn't seem like the person who would hold back in any situation.

"Again," Yomo commanded.

Touka charged forth and immediately went for a flying roundhouse kick. Yomo slid out of the way and grabbed her leg before throwing her off to the side. She landed with a crouch and re-engaged, throwing a jab. Kaneki came at the white haired ghoul's back swinging a punch of his own. He was countered when his target turned around and pulled him by the arm into tripping over a leg and into the violet haired ghoul. She was able to adjust the flight path of her fist to avoid from caving in the half-breed's face. Which was her mistake, she went past the college student and right where the combat expert wanted her. She was off balance, and exposed, allowing him to move past the tumbling rookie with a single step and get right beside her to drop his elbow on her head. She responded by dropping to one knee and raising the extended arm in a block that took the full force.

There are reasons why the combat expert is lovingly referred to as a tank. Number one, when you're near his arms the first thing you think is tank, next is Thor. Number two, he takes the term rock hard abs to the next level, and he hits like an Abrams. The blow would've dropped Touka to her knee if she wasn't already there and her arm felt like shattering. And he was supposedly holding back. She was barely strong enough to give him a run for his money in the first place but in her current weakened state, she barely stood a chance. Thus if she couldn't beat his strength and speed. She was going to have to get tricky.

Touka twisted and wrapped her blocking arm around Yomo's, then grabbed onto it with her other arm. She brought her back to him and leaned forward at the hips pulling him forward while using her hips as a leverage point she flipped him over her and onto his stomach in front of her. She tried holding him there but she had underestimated his strength. He got a leg underneath him and shoved up. Once he was off the ground her hold was useless. Kaneki came at his left suddenly trying for a kick. The background operator of Anteiku spun around and threw the violet haired ghoul. The teens collided and fell back away.

Yomo's instincts flared up and he turned around. Marcus came at his opponent's six o'clock with a right hook. The white haired ghoul barely made it in time to catch the fist in his hand. Even then, it was less than an inch from his face.

"Damn," Marcus said with a smile as he stepped back and straightened his clothes, which consisted of a dark t-shirt, jeans, and his new dark bomber jacket. "Not even with a coordinated surprise attack."

"Your timing was off. If you moved a second or two sooner." Yomo commented.

The Kakuja shrugged and scratched the back of his head shyly. "Yeah, well. Been a solo player for a while, I'm not too used to the whole teamwork thing quite yet."

Touka untangled herself from Kaneki and stood up dusting off her clothes. Again. Then she gave the new arrival a sour look and tersely asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too." The brit sighed, well used to the treatment she's been giving him for the past couple weeks. "Just heard the commotion and thought I'd pop by. See if I could contribute."

She didn't say anything else and started walking towards the ladder. Kaneki asked confused. "You're not gonna continue training?"

"Not in the mood." She sharply answered directing the hostility in her voice towards the Jade eyed ghoul. Her tone cleared up some as she explained "Besides I gotta get home. Hinami's not sleeping well, I'm hoping that an earlier bedtime will get her some sleep."

"It's nightmares, isn't it?" The English ghoul's guess stopped her just as she placed a hand and a foot on the ladder.

"No." She replied quickly but it was easy to tell she was lying.

He took a few steps closer and kindly suggested. "I might be able to help with that. I could get her to sleep peacefully."

She turned and said sarcastically at first. "How do you Englishmen say it? Oh, yeah! Sod…off." And finished dead serious.

Then Touka turned back and climbed the ladder. She avoided admitting to herself that for half a second she thought about taking that offer. Hinami really hasn't been doing well. As said, she has issues sleeping, she barely eats and because she barely eats it affects her sleep which affects her mood to eat and it's just a downward spiral. Despite her efforts and everyone else's at Anteiku, except Marcus, it does not seem to be slowing down but it's not speeding up either. She knew who could stop it and he knew it too. They had both heard the daughter's plea for her mom to sing her to sleep again. Marcus can sing. He could be a great help for her recovery. But she can't bring herself to ask him. She felt like she would be surrendering. It was a stupid pride thing and it was getting in the way of helping Hinami. She knew that but she couldn't help it.

Marcus watched Touka climb the ladder till she vanished into the tunnel that went the rest of the way to Anteiku. He sighed and went back to Yomo and Kaneki. The former was treating the latter to some basic hand-to-hand drills.

Kaneki threw a jab into Yomo's upheld palm. It had better form but still sloppy. He commented. "She still hasn't forgiven you?"

"No," Marcus answered sighing. "I feel like that guy in Greek mythology, the one who's pushing that boulder up the mountain."

"Sisyphus." The book nerd filled in as he struck Yomo's hand again.

"Yeah, him. Touka's been stubbornly holding onto her grudge." The Brit stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

Yomo parried a blow from the half-breed and thumped him on the back of his fist, stating to both of them. "You should've expected that."

"I did and I'm not gonna give up." He was gonna mend things with Touka. It hurts for her to hate him. He liked it when they were friends, it made him feel like there could be more to life than just surviving.

"Marcus." The black ops member of Anteiku asked, "Has there been any change to your abilities?"

The Kakuja shook his head. "Nope. My strength and speed are the same as they've always been. The only ability I gained that night were the explosive shards. And better control of my Kakuja form. The explosions have less force now too."

"But I heard the story. You practically were teleporting all over the place like _whoosh_ , _whoosh_ and the shards went _bercchhhe_." The college student enthusiastically said waving his arms around to match the sound effects.

The white haired ghoul karate chopped him on the head and chastised. "Keep your guard up."

The Brit watched, unsure what to take from what just happened so he just said. "Well, yes, but I only had it for that night. Humans even ghouls have limiters in their bodies that limit their physical capabilities to keep from damaging itself. In rare, once of a lifetime instances, those limits can be released and then you can do some amazing feats."

"Like those stories about mothers lifting cars off of their children." The black ops member supplied.

"Yeah, exactly." The special type ghoul confirmed. "The best me and mom figured is that the situation triggered the limits to release or it was the change of Xeno's nature that did it. Though, We mostly have no clue. Not exactly like we have other cases to compare against."

"Do you want to spar?" The stoic ghoul asked.

"Nah. Got some stuff to take care off and I could use some sleep." The foreign teen yawned as a point. "Later."

Marcus turned and headed back up the ladder. Kaneki followed suit. "I gotta get going, too. School tomorrow."

Yomo looked at the retreating figures of the teens before putting on his coat and grabbing the duffle bag. Then he followed, resuming his original intention of coming to Anteiku.

* * *

Touka woke up to screaming. She turned over in her bed immediately, to face Hinami. She was clutching onto her pillow and the sheets, on the verge of tearing into both. Her screams were near that of a wounded animal. Equal measures despair and fear and she was consumed by it. It gave no insinuations except that whatever she was seeing was too horrible to describe. The high school girl sat up, threw the sweat soaked sheets off them and pulled the young girl into her lap who still had a hold of the pillow. The child was wrapped in strong comforting arms while being rocked slowly and having soothing words whispered to her.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours but was much shorter than that, the screams slowly turned to sobs. "It hurts, sis. It hurts so much."

"I know," Touka said quietly. What else could she say? She wouldn't start healing till she stopped having these nightmares.

"I just want it to stop, I want it all to stop." Hinami wept.

"I'm trying the best I can." The high-schooler acknowledged. "Come with me to Anteiku tomorrow. It'll help some."

The young girl nodded still crying. The worried teen continued. "I'll get the nightmares to stop. Just try to get some rest, kay?"

Touka adjusted her position so that she sat against the wall with Hinami in her lap laying against her chest. Sleep slowly came back to the tormented ghoul but it left the one who watched her. The teen was too worried to find sleep.

* * *

Marcus set the coffee cups in the cupboard, prepping to open Anteiku for the weekend. He was back in his work clothes and working at Anteiku, no cast. Enough time had passed that it wouldn't seem weird to the public eye that his cast was gone. Irimi handed him more cups to put away. Everyone had taken to him being Xeno quite calmly. It was awkward those first few days, but things slowly returned back to normal. Except for Touka of course, but that might be a difference of experience. The others fully understood lying to loved ones due to their own personal experience especially Yoshimura.

"Wonder if Hinami's okay." Kaneki said as he walked by to set jars of beans on the counter."

"Not from what I heard," Marcus stated morosely.

The half-breed looked to him hopefully. "Can you really help her?"

"Hopefully." Was the Brit's answer. "I helped Mom when she went through it and I was a stone-cold bastard in those days."

"So she'll be okay?" Irimi asked.

"Kids are resilient, like rubber balls. You can squeeze them, crush them, throw them, but give them a chance to recover then they'll snap back to normal. Only under extreme, constant pressure do they break."

Touka stepped in bringing with her the young girl in question. The teen was wearing her usual work clothes. Hinami was wearing a light green dress with sky blue pants and jacket. She also had her headband that had a butterfly on it. It would've been adorable if it hadn't been for the dark circles under her eyes. It was easy to tell she hadn't been sleeping well and she seemed thin. So her eating habits aren't too great either. It was a pitiful sight. The hazelnut haired girl was led to one of the tables where she sat down. The high schooler handed the girl one of her favorite books and reassuringly rubbed her shoulders before she joined her fellow employees behind the counter.

"Good morning." Kaneki greeted.

"Hey." Touka's response was quiet and tired. She looked pretty worn out herself. Marcus went up to her to give some comforting words and maybe offer to help again but a sharp glare and harsh words ended that thought. "Don't even talk to me, don't even look my way."

He immediately backed off. The half-breed frowned and walked up to strained teenager. "You ok?"

"Take a guess." Was the edged reply.

The abrasive teen said no more and started making hot water for the coffee. The college student grimaced then looked over to Hinami. She had her book open but she wasn't really looking at it. After a moment's consideration, he made a cup of coffee from one of the ready pots and brought it over to her. "Hello, Hinami."

"Oh. Hey, Kaneki." Her voice was bland, tired, and hoarse. She noticed the offered coffee and accepted it. "Thank you."

The college student nodded and sat down next her. He asked pleasantly. "So, what are you reading?"

"Summer diary." She replied staring at the open pages of the book blankly.

"Are you having trouble with any words?"

She shrunk in on herself and answered meekly. "A few."

"How about we have a quick little lesson before we open up?" He suggested.

A little life came to her eyes and she nodded. "Okay!"

Touka watched over contently. Somehow, Kaneki always seemed to bring a little life to the girl. It certainly went farther to help Hinami than any of Touka's attempts. She had tried kanji lessons herself but it never worked quite as well as when the half-breed did it. _Little shit._

She looked over to Marcus where he was straightening the coffee jars so that labels could be clearly seen by both the customers and the employees. As he checked them all to see if they were even, his fingers tapped compulsively. He only got that way when he was nervous or anxious. She thought about not asking him to help Hinami liked she had planned too as it seemed like it was a bad time. And she had also told him not to talk to her. Unfortunately, she was going to have to swallow her pride and ask. For Hinami's sake.

Touka took a deep breath and walked over to Marcus. "We need to talk." She kept her tone strictly business.

"Uh, yeah, sure. What do you need?" He replied. Seeming a bit flustered. He started having this feeling, like an itch on the back of his neck and he couldn't figure out what it was.

"It's not what I need, " She looked towards Hinami. "But what she needs."

He nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

"This doesn't change a damn thing. All right? My worry for Hinami outweighs my hatred for you right now." She clarified with a glare.

"Of course." He waved his hands placatingly. "So, I'll see you…"

The itching feeling grew and he turned his head towards the door. Suddenly he recognized this feeling. It had been some time since he had last felt it and it wasn't as insistent as this was. It was the feeling of an incoming predator and one that's high on the food chain. The last time he felt it was when he had met Old man Yoshimura for the first time, and then promptly got his ass kicked.

"Hinami." He called out. He tone got sober and cold. "Please go to the back room."

The little girl innocently asked. "Why?"

"The hell is up with that?" The purple haired teen exclaimed questioningly, grabbing his shoulder and tugging on it while leaning over slightly so that she could get into his peripheral. Then she saw his cold gaze, the same he had that night at the waterway. It shifted over to her for a few seconds before returning to the door and she understood. Something was coming. She requested her voice growing intense and serious. "Do as he says, Hinami, please."

Still confused but understanding that she needed to follow instructions, Hinami gathered her things, got up and moved towards the door to the back rooms. "Okay."

"I'll stay with her." Irimi notified, catching onto to the urgency, as she opened the door and held it.

The little girl stopped just in front of the door and looked towards her caretaker. "Be careful, okay?"

The high school girl smiled softly. "I will."

Then Hinami vanished through the doorway followed by Irimi. The violet head turned back to the Brit with a serious look. "So, what now?" She was willing to take his lead on this because, bastard or not, he seems to have Anteiku's best interests at heart and he has good instincts.

"Turn on the TV, and act normal. Who or whatever it is, it may just be a customer and we'll treat him as such." He advised his tone still low.

She didn't like to hide from a fight but the twentieth ward has had enough attention, the last thing they need is to direct some of that towards Antieku.

Kaneki looked between them, confused. "What's going on?"

Anteiku's only high school student sighed and tossed the half-breed a wet towel. "Shut up and get back to work. Wipe down the tables, idiot."

"Uh, okay." He replied, unsure, and did as told.

Touka walked over to the corner of the shop where they had the TV and flicked it on. Marcus went outside to turn on the sign before going to man the coffee pots. It was time to open. They made sure the shop was ready for customers as usual and waited for whatever the Kakuja sensed was coming. Tokyo's Ghoul News Network came on and the reporter started talking about an assault committed by a ghoul known as Gourmet. The violet haired teen recognized the name quickly as she wiped down the counter and noted that he had been active more since Rize's death while the half-breed recognized it from the CCG wanted posters.

Then Anteiku's first customer stepped in. He was certainly one of their more unique customers. He was like some kind of fashion model. Slightly tall, a few inches of six feet, with a slim build. He wore a purple sweatshirt that had a diamond plaid pattern to it with the collar of a red dress shirt peeking out from the v-neckline of the sweatshirt. Also, he wore light purple slacks and what Marcus swore to god was purple suede shoes. Look past the clothes and he could be a handsome guy. Gentle features, a leisurely smile and relaxed purple eyes of a shade not unlike Touka's. His light blue hair was neatly combed to be fashionably swept to one side.

He stepped through the threshold, inhaled deeply and sighed leaning against the door. "Smells good. This place always had a relaxing scent to it." He was Asian but sported a French accent. Weird but not too unusual.

' **That** **feeling we got was from this guy?** ' Xeno commented in Marcus' mind; a mental image of an eyebrow quirk worthy of Spock accompanied.

The Brit shrugged internally. 'He does look weird but that's just the outside. We're testament to how messed a person can be on the inside.' Besides their instincts have been a little off kilter since they "strengthened their bond" or whatever.

' **That we are.** '

Touka was a little surprised. _Surely, that nerd wasn't concerned about this bottom feeder._

The only one not irked by the new arrival was Kaneki. "Welcome." _Wow, he's like a model._

"It's been a while, Miss Kirishima." The "model" greeted with a wave.

She tried to hide a disgusted look on her face as she asked. "What d'you want?"

The two male ghouls of different subspecies had the same thought. _He's a regular?_

Noticing her tone, the European enthusiast replied playfully. "Oh, c'mon. I just came by to say hello. You are as unfriendly as always, Miss Kirishima. Although, that's also what makes you so charming."

She grimaced and shot back. "You're a freak."

The man ignored the insult and shifted his attention to the newer employee. "The boy with the eyepatch. Is that you? The tough guy who took down an investigator."

"H-hi, my names Kaneki." The half-breed stammered out.

The man hummed in thought and walked around the teen, analyzing him as though he was an animal at the zoo. Then, the man leaned and to a sniff near the dark-haired boy's neck. The college student froze awkwardly clearly disturbed by this action.

"A strange scent." The man mumbled curiously.

"Hey!" Touka called out with an annoyed look and waved her hand as though she was shooing away a stray cat. "We're working here and you're a freak, so get the hell outta here!"

"It's always such a pleasure with you." The man said deadpan then he grew a sly smile. "But I just want to talk."

"Didn't you hear her? She said leave." Marcus spoke, his voice chilling. His jade eyes were harsh, their gaze promising painful violence and death. This guy may have looked weird but he was a killer. Beyond the standard ghoul level. He was like Rize or Jason. He took a sick enjoyment in cutting down his pray. He could tell in the way the man held himself.

The man looked around and saw that his presence was not appreciated. He sighed ruefully. "I can see when I'm not wanted. I'll stop by again soon for some coffee, maybe when Mr. Yoshimura is here. Well then, Kaneki. I'll see you later." He finally left with a wave and with a hidden foxlike smile.

"Who was that?" Kaneki asked still thoroughly weirded out by the man.

Touka scoffed. "The twentieth ward's nuisance, the gourmet. Don't get involved with that guy, he's a pain in the ass."

"In more than one way, I'd bet," Marcus commented, relaxing now that the stranger was gone.

"He's certainly nothing to get that agitated over. The way you acted, I thought it was gonna some badass Kakuja." She crossed her arms skeptically.

"Hey, my instincts may be a little hyper lately but they said predator and I thought it better to listen." He defended with a pout.

"Predator? More like a scavenger." She countered with a hint of disgust. "That guy is a hyena at best, a vulture at worst."

"Even Lions will form up against a hyena if it meant protecting their cubs." The kakuja shot back sagely.

She understood what he meant: he was less concerned with Anteiku's safety and more about Hinami's. "Can't argue with that. Speaking of which, Kaneki. Go let them know it's okay to come out."

"Alright," The half-breed answered before going to the back and fetching the hiding ghouls.

As he did that, the Brit turned to the violet-haired ghoul. "So, picking up our conversation."

"Her bedtime's at eight. Be there." She stated tersely.

He shrugged and sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Marcus walked down the street casually, his hands stuck in the pocket of his Nostromo jacket. His usual dark shirt, jeans, and shoes made him blend with the night. Touka's apartment building not too far. It was small, two floor complex with only a few dozen apartments. It's size meant that it was probably cheap and on the outside, it looked pretty decent. In other words, it was good for a ghoul trying to hang low.

He checked the index card that Touka had written her information on for the apartment number and floor. Once he had that information he went up the stairs and to the apartment. It was the southwest corner of the building which was a good spot as it avoided the sun for most of the day until late afternoon and the window had a nice view of the western mountains.

Marcus knocked on the door and Touka opened it. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She turned and looked at the clock on the wall behind her. It read eight o'clock on the nose.

She turned back to him and said dryly. "Of course you would show up exactly on time."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm a punctual guy."

The high schooler stared at him skeptically for a few seconds before stepping back. "Come in."

The light-hearted teen took off his shoes and set them beside the other pairs of shoes by the door. He also hung his jacket on a conveniently placed hook. Then the Kakuja walked further inside shutting the door. Touka stepped back and let him view the room.

It was a nice sized apartment. A short hallway led from the door into the living room of the apartment. Two doors were on the left wall of the hallway that stretched out into the living room while the right wall turned right so the hall could open up into the living room. A fully stocked kitchen was set on that wall. On the opposite wall was a wide window that had purple curtains. There were bookshelves and cabinets with various school supplies and other odds and ends by the other walls. In the middle of the room was a wide rug that covered most of the wood floor. On the rug was a large four person tea table with several kneeling pads under it. Scattered everywhere were packed boxes.

"Damn," Marcus muttered in awe. "I know where I'm getting my first apartment."

"Don't even think about it." Touka snapped.

"Moving in?" He asked.

"I had a studio apartment before this. With Hinami moving in, I needed a bigger apartment." She said plainly before pointing to the door furthest away from the entrance. "She's in there."

"Okay." He walked over and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Hinami's voice came faintly.

He stepped in with a greeting. "Hey there, hobbit."

The bedroom was small, big enough to fit a full-size bed with room to walk around to change clothes and other stuff. The sheets were standard white with a purple comforter. The walls were pretty bare except for single wall shelf that was nothing on it but Touka's broken Rabbit mask. There was closet to the left. Hinami sat on the bed wearing a yellow nightgown, the sheets were pulled up to her waist.

She looked at him confused. "Hobbit?

An amused smile formed on his lips. "I'll try to find a Japanese copy for ya." He sat down next her.

Touka leaned against the doorframe.

"You're gonna help me sleep, right?" The young ghoul asked hopefully

He nodded and said softly. "That's the idea. Mum couldn't sleep either like you a long time ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I had to help her sleep too." He assured. "So I've gotten really good at it."

She smiled gratefully, relief in her eyes. Maybe tonight she wouldn't have more nightmares. "Thank you."

"Of course." He rubbed his hand through her hair assuringly. "One thing I gotta take care of."

He stood up and walked past the abrasive girl who looked at him oddly. He then opened the front door and gestured towards it. "If you would please."

"You're kicking me out of my own apartment?" She asked indignantly.

"Yep." He replied with a smile. "You can't see this. It's a trade secret"

The high school girl sighed annoyed and grabbed her phone before storming outside.

"I'll text you when I'm done." The Kakuja stated still smiling as he shut the door.

She frowned, irked, and sat against the railing. "Asshole."

The Brit walked back into the bedroom. Hinami looked at him deadpan. "She's going to like you less now."

He shrugged. "It's okay. She let me help you. So that means she hates me less. I'm getting somewhere."

"I guess so." The young answered thoughtfully. Then she remembered something she read earlier. "Hey, did you know that a purple hyacinth means forgiveness and apology."

"You really think I should try the whole flower thing?" He asked unsurely. "You sure she wouldn't mind that?"

She nodded enthusiastically and explained. "She may act like she hates you but you mean a lot to her. You guys get each other in a way most people don't. It hurts you to be hated right?"

He nodded. "I spent a long time being seen as nothing more than a demon. The only recourse I really had was Mum." He winced and turned to the girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

The brown haired ghoul shook her head somberly. "It's alright. I want to hear more."

"Okay." The unique ghoul answered hesitantly before continuing. "Mum made feel like I could belong somewhere, actually she taught me to feel. It helped to know how to smile, to laugh, and to cry, but I started to actually feel like a monster. Before I just shrugged it off but I realized how alone I really was. I had all these sins on my shoulders and no one to share the load with. When I first entered Anteiku, I kinda felt at home. I read the employees, they way they moved, spoke, and worked, and I could tell they were like me. They all had sinned and they weren't trying to make up for it. They found companionship in others like them and they shared the load of their sins. I wanted that."

"That's why you joined Anteiku?" She asked.

"Yeah and it feels good to be around them, it helps me forget and I don't feel regret anymore."

"Well, tell her that." She suggested. He looked at her confused so the young ghoul explained. "I think another reason why she's acting so mean is because she might be afraid that the Marcus she knew and befriended might not be real. She doesn't want to get close and learn that the person she could depend on never existed and she would get hurt. She's afraid that you're just a mask to cover a merciless creature like the stories made you out to be. If you tell her that you regret what you did personally and that you came to Anteiku to forget that, she might realize you're not fake and she might become nicer."

The bed head looked at the girl in shock. She could be right. When he showed up at her school tell her truth, he did so, even showing the colder nature he had that wasn't Xeno. However perhaps in being brutally honest, he created the wrong impression about himself. He wanted to show her how much he had changed to bring her closer but all he did was push her away. _I'm an idiot._

He smiled and ruffled Hinami's hair affectionately. "Thanks, hobbit. I came here to comfort you and you ended up comforting me. Funny how that works."

She batted at his arms playfully. "Stop calling me that. Tell me what a hobbit is."

"You'll find out when you read the book." He dodged a lengthy explanation and declared. "We should be getting you to bed. If I keep you up any longer Touka will string me up by my tendons."

The sleep deprived girl slid down into the bed and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. The nerd waited as she fidgeted around until she was comfortable, then he laid down and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"All right, I need you to promise me something. Don't tell anyone. Okay?"

She nodded and he started to sing for her. He picked some of the more peaceful songs from his menagerie of various anime themes. She only made through two songs before she fell asleep. He slid his arm out from under her and walked out of the bedroom silently closing the door. He slipped on his shoes and jacket before leaving the apartment. Touka was outside leaning against the railing looking peeved.

A flicker of a teasing smirk came on Marcus' face and he said. "She's out cold."

She looked less peeved and more concerned. "Will she be okay?"

"That's mostly up to her. She feels lonely. Her parents were her world and they're gone. She's clinging onto the memories of them, both the good and the bad. Since she never really saw what happened to them and she saw what investigators can do to ghouls." The high school student scratched the arm Kureo carved into, the lettering fully healed. He paused to let her focus back onto the topic before continuing. "Her imagination is running wild with all kinds of images of what could've happened to them. That is what's making these nightmares."

She frowned and asked sadly. "What can we do?"

"The best we can do is let her know she can live on without them. That she doesn't have to cling to their memory to remember them. That there are other people who care about her too. Kaneki's got a good lead on that but the nightmares keep undoing any progress that's made. Hopefully tonight, she'll be okay and we can get ahead." He stated knowledgeably.

"Are they gone for good?" She asked hesitantly, afraid she already knew the answer. She was surprised at how well he knew this kind of thing but he was a profiler so it was kind of his trade.

"No." He answered gravely, sticking his hands in his pockets. "They never will. They just get rarer, once in a blue moon. Mum still gets them but they might happen once or twice a year if that. You just gotta ride it through."

She nodded somberly. "Alright, thanks."

"Anytime." He responded. She started to walk past him to get in her apartment but he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her, suggesting softly. "Want me to stay? Just in case it doesn't work."

"No, I got it. If that happens I know how to help her through it." She continued walking into her apartment and before she closed the door she declared. "Don't think you've earned any points. I still hate you."

However she was less sure about the statement and he picked up on it in her eyes, so he just waved dismissively and walked away. "Yeah, yeah."

Touka shut the door and walked to her bedroom. She was grateful that he didn't take her cold treatment personally and he willing helped out Hinami. She was starting to come undone at her inability to help the girl. She could take on investigators with no issue but a few bad dreams and she was as helpless as a newborn. Which was something else that was good. He didn't tease her about her uselessness. He just helped without being a dick about it. She's had moments like these where he made it hard to be hated.

She dismissed the thought and slowly opened the bedroom door. Hinami was there sleeping as he had said. She actually looked more peaceful than she had been in the past few weeks. Whatever he did must've done the trick. She climbed into the bed carefully and joined the girl in peaceful sleep.

* * *

Kaneki waited outside Touka's apartment complex. Soon after what happened at the waterway, the Manager asked the numbers and addresses be passed around so that in the case of emergencies everyone can be found quickly. She may have moved recently but the information got quickly handed out. Marcus wasn't present at that time so he hadn't got that memo. The half-breed had some spare time so he decided to come over and check on Hinami but he hesitated, wondering if Touka would appreciate him dropping by suddenly.

Just as his backpack started digging into his white long sleeve shirt, the teenage girl walked up to him not from the apartments but from down the streets and with a plastic bag in hand. She had put on a pair of pants but kept the shirt.

Kaneki looked her way in surprise. "Oh, hey there."

She just looked at him skeptically. "Didn't know you were into this kinda thing."

"Wh-what? I'm not a stalker." He quickly denied.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked.

"I just…"

"How long have you been standing here?" She cut him off, crossing her arms

"Whatever. This way." The tomboy figured that he wanted to check on Hinami. She led him to her apartment where she unlocked the door and stepped in, calling out. "Hinami, I'm home!"

Hinami came around the corner with a pleasant greeting. "Hey, Touka!"

The college student felt whiplash at the sudden turnaround the young girl took. When he saw her a few days ago she wasn't looking that great but now she looked pretty good. The dark circles were well on the path to fading away and she had some of that innocent sparkle back in her eyes again.

The young ghoul noticed the half-breed and with a gleaming smile ran over to him. "Kaneki!"

"How are you doing, Hinami?" He asked he took his shoes off, fixing the pant legs of his jeans afterward.

The owner of the apartment already had her shoes off and put where they belong. She walked past the college student and towards her roommate to whom she explained. "He was waiting outside for half an hour. Isn't that sick?"

"Really?" The fourteen-year-old asked innocently, unaware of what her big sis was insinuating.

The dark haired student held a deadpan expression for a second then he noticed something new about the brown haired girl. "Hinami, did you cut your hair?"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. Her bangs were brought back to show her eyebrows and her hair only went down to her chin as supposed to her shoulders. "Touka did for me actually."

"Wow! It looks like you got it done at a salon. Nice job, Touka." He exclaimed, setting his shoes with the others before following the girls.

"Y-you think so?" She muttered embarrassedly. Both at the compliment and the fact the hair cut was mostly accidental. She only meant to trim the bangs so that they weren't sticking in Hinami's eyes but then she ended up cutting off close to three-quarters of an inch. The high school student shook off the embarrassment and asked. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"O-oh, well, Mr. Yoshimura said that you might need some help moving in." The reserved ghoul looked around at the still packed boxes. "If there's anything I can do to help." _I was also worried about Hinami._

"Why would Mr. Yoshimura… Never mind. You can start with those boxes over there." She gestured vaguely to a stack in the far corner of the room before setting the plastic bag on the counter. She removed the can of coffee and set in the cupboard.

Kaneki set down his bag and dug through it until he found what he was looking for, then he handed it to Hinami. "Here. Try reading this when you have time."

She took the kanji copy of _The Hobbit_ and asked. "How is it?"

"It's pretty good. It was written close to sixty or seventy years ago so it uses a lot of words in different ways. It's something of a linguistic adventure plus the adventure it already is. Plus there are all the words the author come up so if you really want to test your kanji skills." He reviewed. "Marcus apologizes not bringing it over himself but he's been busy lately with online school."

"It's fine. He helped chase away the nightmares anyways." She said happily.

 _So, that's why she's looking better._ He thought before asking. "How did he do that?"

She smiled, "I'm sorry but I can't tell you. It's a secret."

"I wouldn't bother." The purple eyed student chipped in as she leaned back against the kitchen counter. "I've been grilling her past few days, not even bribing works." _I know what he did anyways._

The doorbell ringed.

The high schooler looked back confused before moving up to answer it. _Another visitor?_ "Who is it?" She looked through the peephole to see Yoriko standing there with a pot in her hot pad covered hands.

The high school girl leapt back from the door as though it would bite her any second, crying out in a whisper. "What is she doing here? Gotta hide Hinami."

She grabbed the young girl's shoes, dashed into the living room, handed them to her then shoved her towards the bedroom. "Hide, hide, hide."

The fourteen-year-old quickly caught on and slid into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her while the violet haired teen's cell phone dinged with a text message alert. "What now?! Just wait!"

Kaneki just stood there befuddled as all this was going on. The hotheaded ghoul took a few seconds to calm herself before going to the front door and opening it for her friend. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry for showing up like this," Yoriko said apologetically. "But you were acting strange at school the other day so I got kinda worried."

The violet haired student sighed, knowing that her friend must have thought that something was up when she went to the bathroom to try to digest the chicken she tried. "I'm fine, you worry too much."

"No, Touka." The human said with unusual strictness. "You had that sad look on your face, like when your dad moved overseas to work. I'm sorry if I'm wrong."

The ghoul frowned slightly. Her friend knew her too well. She was probably referring to a few days ago when Hinami had a pretty bad nightmare. She was thrashing around and hit her head against the wall. No real damage happened but it really pointed out to the violet-haired student her helplessness. It had affected her pretty bad at school and the cook must have picked up on that and made something to comfort her.

The kind student noticed an additional pair of shoes by the door and immediately that of someone. "Oh! Ayato's home?"

Movement behind Touka brought the cook's attention to Kaneki who had a long stuffed animal kind of like a body pillow. A look of complete shock hit her face as she jumped to conclusions. "N-no way! You're playing one against the other?! You genius!"

"Yoriko?" the tomboy girl asked confusedly.

"Here! I made Meat and Potato Stew." The enthusiastic girl held out the pot. "Eat it with him and make Marcus jealous."

"What'd you just say?!" The disguised ghoul exclaimed as she caught onto what her friend was insinuating as the pot was shoved into her hands.

Yoriko raised a fist in supportive determination before stealing away.

The befuddled ghoul just stood there and quietly asked to the open air. "What was that raised fist supposed to mean?"

Touka closed the door with her foot and brought the pot to the kitchen. Kaneki put the stuffed animal on the table and peeked over her shoulder. "What's this?"

"Yoriko, my friend brought it but she saw your shoes and left." She answered as she set the pot on the counter, she stepped to the side to get into the cabinets.

"So you have friends," Kaneki stated as he reached for the pot and picked it up.

"Do you want me to kick your ass?"

 _Yoriko, huh?_ He sighed. It probably tasted good but since they couldn't eat it. "I know that it's wasteful, but I'll throw it out."

The high school student whipped around and snatched it out of his hands screaming. "What?! Are you crazy?!"

"But…"

"I'm gonna eat it!" She stated with determination. "She went through the trouble of making it!"

The bookworm watched her as she set the pot down again and grabbed a bowl, chopsticks, and ladle. She pulled off the lid revealing the stew. It looked pretty good to him having had his own fair share of stews back when he was human.

The younger student started filling the bowl with stew when he asked. "L-let me help."

She looked at the bowl she was making for herself for a second contemplating before handing it to him with some chopsticks. "Here."

He picked up a nice mixture of the foods that went into the dish with the chopsticks and popped it into his mouth. He instantly regretted that choice. The potatoes were like kneaded chalk. The onions were like the wings of an insect. The sewage like broth was like blows to the body. And a secret ingredient! Whatever she put in that, it was like pencil lead! Layers and layers of horribleness crashed on him like waves! He didn't know carefully prepared food could be so bad!

The hot head saw the disgusted look on his face as he covered his mouth so the food could only go down his gullet. She sighed irritatedly. "Don't worry about it. I'll eat it. Yoriko's food is wasted on you."

She pulled out another pair of chopsticks and ate a bite. She had a nauseated look on her face but she groaned. "Yup. It's good! I-I see why she's an aspiring chef."

 _So, she's an important friend._ Kaneki thought. _But that's a lot of food._ Not fifteen minutes later, she was in the bathroom trying to refrain from puking her guts.

Hinami looked at the closed door confused. "What's wrong with Touka?"

He hummed thoughtfully before answering. "She tried too hard."

* * *

Kaneki sat at a table in Kamii's lounge area reading a book and having a cup of coffee from Starbucks. The yellow sweatshirt over a green t-shirt and blue jeans kept him warm from the inherent chill to Japan but not too warm as to overheat. He pulled out the cloth bag of sugar cubes given to him by the manager out of his letter carrier bag and onto the table. Popping off the lid of the coffee, he tossed a sugar cube in the coffee and stirred it before taking a sip. He sighed woefully. _The coffee here's not that great._

"Kaneki." A familiar French voice set as someone sat on the end of the table. "Hey."

The half-breed looked up at the person in surprise as it turned out to be the strange man who visited Anteiku. He was wearing dark jeans with a purple t-shirt and a dark jacket. To Kaneki he looked like some kind of fabulous rock star.

The modest ghoul greeted unsurely. "Oh…Hi, uh…?"

"Shuu Tsukiyama." The fashion statement supplied before asking politely with a gesture to the seat in front of the student. "May I sit?"

"Oh, of course." The nineteen-year-old nodded wetting down his book. Tsukiyama sat in the seat he referenced to in a relaxed manner. "Um… What are you… doing here?"

"I came to see you." The gourmet stated creepily, pointing at the terrified ghoul accompanied with a haunted stare. The look was replaced with amusement as he lowered his hand. "If that were that were the real reason, how would it make you feel?"

"Uh…um… I dunno." The dark haired ghoul lied. _I'd be scared._

Kaneki observed Tsukiyama, the gourmet. Touka had called the guy the twentieth ward's nuisance. The presence was more than enough to unnerve Marcus. The hothead may have said some demeaning things about the model like ghoul but if the demon of the fourth ward's unnerved then there was more to this guy than what met the eye. He only vaguely heard a few of the news reports so he knows that the gourmet has a reputation but he's not exactly sure of what. _What does he want with me?_

"Is that a martial arts book?" The fancifully dressed one asked breaking the reader's thoughts.

"Yes." The reserved teen answered slowly.

"That's kind of unexpected." The blue haired ghoul said. "I thought you'd be into something more literary."

The half-breed explained. "That's what I usually read. But I just recently got into this."

"Martial arts?"

"Yeah, it's not safe these days."

"I see. Knowledge of self-defense." The stylish man nodded understandingly. "But that doesn't that doesn't make for a very interesting read, does it?"

"Yeah, it's great and all, but it's not the most compelling material but when I read other books I couldn't quite picture the fight scenes in them, but with a little bit of knowledge I'm able to picture those scenes better now. Turns out the parts I didn't quite understand are actually enjoyable. Kind of an added bonus." The college ghoul explained.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. If you have background knowledge of subjects covered in a piece of work you're able to envision so much from just one passage. A piece of work, I think, can be more enjoyed more thoroughly the closer the reader's awareness gets to the author's." The eccentric conversationalist's fingers absentmindedly walked across the table as he spoke with a relaxing sigh. "Imagining yourself in an imaginary world from the creator's perspective. It makes me tingle with excitement."

"You really do like books, don't you?" The dark haired student asked.

The French-accented ghoul responded his eyes focusing on some distant memory. "Only when I'm immersed in a book, am I able to forget who I am. Fiction is what helped me through some tough times."

Kaneki immediately thought to when he was just a boy reading from his father's left behind a library of books to escape the harshness of his low lifestyle.

"So I hear you read Takatsuki?" Tsukiyama asked. "The regulars at Anteiku told me."

"Oh, yeah." The half-breed affirmed with enchantment. "Her style is subtle, but there's an inner strength to it. I'm fascinated by her indescribable style."

"I like her work too. I see, Takatsuki…" Then a thought struck the fashionable ghoul. "There's a place I really like. It's a café run by a book lover. The smell of old books and coffee is blended in just the right way. The ambiance is so comforting. According to rumors, I hear Takatsuki shows up from time to time."

"What?! Takatsuki?!" The Takatsuki fanatic exclaimed.

"Would you like to go sometime? We can bring out favorite books to share. I'm sure you'll like it." The seemingly kind man suggested.

"Um…" The younger of the two hesitated. _That does sound fun. But I do get the sense he's up to something. He doesn't look like a bad person, but I can't completely trust him._

"Did Miss Kirishima say something about me?" The gourmet cut into the eyepatch wearer's thoughts who spluttered for an answer. He waved a dismissing hand. "It's okay, I know. I've always been misunderstood. People shun me, thinking I'm a snob. I'm not allowed to participate in ward meetings, so I'm always left out of the loop. I try to be sociable with them, but they shun me for trying too hard. With Miss Kamishiro gone now, I have nobody to talk to."

 _Rize?_ The college student thought surprised.

"But I felt something similar to her with you. There aren't that many book reading ghouls. You know how it is. Most of them are rather vulgar. I'm just looking for a friend who I can talk about things we like in a quiet place." The blue haired ghoul ended on a longing tone. "I've bothered you, haven't I? I'm sorry, I'll leave."

Tsukiyama stood and started walking away. Kaneki watched him. He wanted to take up the offer but he kept thinking about what Marcus and Touka said about the fashionable ghoul. She had called him a nuisance but she always been standoffish. She might not have taken his attempts at friendship to kindly. Marcus thought him to be a predator but weren't they all?

"If…" The shy teen stammered hesitantly. "If you want, you could talk to me about books."

The mischievous ghoul held a fox-like smirk before turning to face the half-breed with a pleasant smile. "Thank you, Kaneki! I was hoping you'd say that! Then let's meet at the station on Sunday!"

"O-okay." He stammered by the sudden elatedness.

The recently made companions said their goodbyes and parted ways. Kaneki returned to his classes while Tsukiyama went home to make certain preparations. The half-breed went about his day. Meanwhile, his thoughts were plagued by the blue haired ghoul. He was a kind person yet he couldn't help but think he was coaxed into it. Simultaneously, he felt like it was his own decision too. Then there was the mention of Rize. Was there something between them? If so, then does that change the way the bookworm should look at the gourmet. It really shouldn't though. He might've been just friends with her. There was his nickname "The Gourmet." He might be more refined than Rize when it came to their hunting activities.

Kaneki stepped in front of Anteiku when he remembered that it was closed for the day. _I'm so out of it._

He looked to his right to see Yomo of all people walk up looking far less conspicuous than usual in his jeans and dark t-shirt. "Hey." The stoic ghoul greeted.

"Yomo, this is a surprise!" The half-breed said genuinely happy to see him.

"What're you doing here?" The white haired ghoul asked plainly.

"I came here by mistake." The student explained, "What brings you here?"

"I was in the neighborhood."

"Oh, since you're here. Will you take a look at my kick? I've been practicing." He sounded eager as he took a stance.

"I'm busy. Next time." He answered coldly or that could've been his normal tone. It was hard to tell sometimes.

Either way, it left the ghoul-in-training somewhat downtrodden. "Oh. I'm sorry."

The older ghoul stood there thinking for a second before asking vaguely. "You wanna come with me?"

"To the mountain?!" The teen exclaimed alarmingly, not wanting to go food shopping. "I, uh…"

"No." Anteiku's supplier corrected calmly. "I'm meeting somebody. She's been wanting to meet you for some strange reason."

"She?"

"You don't have to. It'd be a pain, right?"

The college student shrugged. "What's she like?"

Then, in a shocking moment that will only come around once in a lifetime, Yomo's cool, calm façade broke. "She's…she's…?" He looked confused as he was unable to describe a woman like her. She's certainly a unique ghoul.

The soft-hearted boy blinked in surprise at the rare event before answering politely. "I'll meet her. You were kind enough to invite me after all."

"All right."

Yomo turned and started walking away. Assuming that he should follow, Kaneki scrambled to keep up with the tall man's long gait. They walked a decent distance to the fourteenth ward. This ward was among the more worse off wards of Tokyo. If the fourth ward were the slums, the fourteenth was the Downtown or Southside of a metropolis. Just a few steps shy of the slums. The bars were of a higher quality than the spaghetti western like bars in the fourth where there was a gun on every table. In the fourteenth, there were only a few guns and they were in holsters.

"It's up here," Yomo said as he went up some stairs into an inside strip mall or something similar. Kaneki had never seen a place like it.

 _Is it some kind of shop?_ The half-breed thought as he followed his guide to a door with a plaque next to it that read: 'Bar. Helter Skelter.'

"A bar? I'm actually underage." He said then he noticed the sign. "Wait, it's closed."

"She's probably inside." The stoic ghoul stated.

"Oh, I see." The student nodded. The door handle clicked as it was being opened. He stepped forward and politely said. "Excuse me…"

The door flew open and a disfigured face came at him, hollering like a maniac. He screamed without any dignity jumped back, tripping, and falling flat on his back. Two figures came out of the bar. One was laughing with a melodic voice while the other had an amused smile. The one with the amused smile was the mask maker Uta. He wore a dark shirt with red lines that were in a broken glass-like pattern, plus a pair of black cargo pants. The laughing person was a well-figured woman wearing a black dress her face was hidden by a mask with the exaggerated features of an old, obese, woman.

"This mask is great, Uta!" The woman laughed crouching beside Kaneki. She looked down at him and mumbled. "Who's this?"

Uta also crouched beside the startled ghoul. "It's a prototype I made a long time ago. But it is good."

"Cut it out, Itori." Yomo chided.

"Sorry, sorry, Ren." She bowed her head apologetically with a playful tone.

"It's been a while, Kaneki. How's my mask working out?" The goth offered a helping hand up to the startled ghoul.

The half-breed took it and stood up, replying shakily while his heart slowing down after it's short sprint. "It's great."

"Kaneki?" The woman asked peeling off the mask with the creaking of rubber.

Itori was beautiful. She had smooth rounded features and skin that never in her life had a blemish. High cheekbones, small nose, and full luscious lips. Silky smooth orange hair that was parted in the middle fell in waves down to her shoulder blades. Her almond shaped eyes were the color of milk chocolate. To say she was as beautiful as a runway model would be an understatement.

A smile lit up her face making it more beautiful and she exclaimed. "Oh, so this is the kid! Anteiku's Mr. Eyepatch."

"Y-yeah." He confirmed hesitantly.

"Awesome!" She all but cheered as she stepped aside and waved them towards the bar. "Come in, come in!"

Kaneki hesitantly stepped into Helter Skelter. It wasn't much smaller than Anteiku. The door entered into the far right of the bar. As with any small bar like this, the bar counter with tall chairs was close to the door. To the right of the door and bar counter, there were a dozen or so tables. About two-thirds were two seat tables and the rest were four seats. The walls were made of brick adding to the classy feel of the bar.

Itori jogged over to the counter and pulled out a tall chair. "Please, sit."

"O-of course." Kaneki nodded and sat down in the chair. The bar owner sat next to him while Uta sat next to her where his drink was waiting for him. Yomo leaned against the nearby wall.

She noticed his nervousness and said assuringly. "Loosen up. This is my place. You can relax, Kanekichi."

"I've never been in a place like this before." He admitted shyly. "And it's Kaneki, not Kanekichi."

"I'm happy you came to see me, Kanekichi." The orange head sang out. "I've heard about you from both Ren and Uta."

"When I made your mask." The goth clarified.

"I was so jealous." She pouted before turning to the food gatherer for Anteiku. "Anyway, you are as disheveled as usual, Ren. Shave once in a while, will ya? And how long have you been wearing those clothes? Ten years?"

"Shut up…" The stoic ghoul grumbled.

"It must be hard for you too, Kane. Having such a pain in the ass around you." The playful woman joked throwing a glance at the pain in question who returned the favor with a minuscule glare.

"N-no, not at all." He disagreed politely. "I wouldn't be here without everybody's help. I'm thankful."

The flamboyant ghoul looked at him in surprise then wrapped an arm around and patted his head. "He's a good kid, this one! So innocent! He's got that pure heart we lost."

"I'm still pure too." The mask maker grumbled taking a sip of his drink.

The college student looked between the three of them and the way they bantered with one another. Then realized something and had to ask to be sure. "Have the three of you known each other for a long time?"

She let the younger ghoul go and answered. "Yeah. I've unfortunately been inseparable from Ren since he showed up in the fourth ward."

"The fourth ward?" The inexperienced ghoul mumbled surprised. _Wards one through four are basically unlivable. Either to ghouls or investigators. That's what everyone keeps saying._

"Ren and Uta hated each other back then." She stated with a reminiscing tone. "The fourth ward was even crazier than it is now because of these two. The problems they caused us. It's a good thing they settled before the no-eyed demon started getting active. Now that'd be hell."

"No kidding." Uta agreed.

"Really?" The reserved member of the group exclaimed surprised. He thought of a younger and rougher Yomo glaring down a gang leading, super punkish Uta.

"I'm sorry, you know how teenagers are." The goth apologized within a smile.

The stoic ghoul shrugged. "Who cares?"

"We're friends now though, right?" The mask maker asked with a small tone of seriousness. Like there was a hidden meaning in the question.

"Maybe."

Itori suddenly cut in, breaking the serious tone, with an exclamation. "Renji was just like Touka is now back in the day. Yeah! Like how they both get out of control."

"Forget about me. That's enough." The background operator stated with annoyance with a mumbled insult. "Idiots."

"Ooh. He's pissed." The bar owner said playfully.

"He is pissed." The goth nodded sagely.

"Didn't you want to talk to him about something?" The white haired ghoul reminded.

"Oh. Right, right." She reached behind the counter and popped open a hidden fridge. Extracting a wine bottle and accompanying glass, she poured the red alcohol into the glass and handed it to the underage ghoul. "Here."

He took it reluctantly. "But I'm…"

"Don't worry. It's not alcohol." The orange head assured with a mischievous smile.

 _It's not wine. It's more viscous._ He analyzed before asking as he held the glass for a closer looked. "Is this blood?"

"Something like that." She bumped his arm hard so the crimson fluid splashed all over him and when the hunger hit him it confirmed what it was.

He flinched back in surprise crying out. "What?!

"Be gentle, Itori," Uta warned teasingly.

"Whoa! I've never seen one before! A one-eyed ghoul!" Itori exclaimed. the half-breed noticed that his Kakugan was involuntarily showing and covered it quickly looking away shamefully. She noticed that and patted him on the back apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. There's no need to hide it. We're all ghouls here."

She picked up a towel from behind the counter and handed it to him. He took it and said. "Thanks." He wiped himself off and his Kakugan slowly faded.

The flamboyant one of the bunch turned her stoic counterpart and asked. "So, Ren, you think their one-eye is like him?"

"I don't know." Yomo sighed. Silently wishing she would stop dragging this out.

 _Their one-eye?_ The half-breed queried curiously. "Is there another ghoul with only one eye like mine?"

"Ooh, you interested?" She smiled gleefully as she tested. "What do you think would happen if you crossed a human with a ghoul?"

"A human with a ghoul?" He double checked.

"Yup, what d'you think?"

The college student thought about for a second. "It'd be a crossbreed, right?"

"It'd die."

"What?" He exclaimed at her blunt and grim statement.

"The possibility of pregnancy is extremely low, to begin with." She explained placing her cheek on her hand and leaned on it. "If the mother is a human the ghoul fetus can't receive to the necessary nourishment so it dies from hunger inside the womb. If the mother is a ghoul, even if she becomes pregnant her body confuses the fetus for nourishment and absorbs it. But very rarely there are some that are born. A half-ghoul, half-human. You know what heterosis is?"

The student proved that his higher education was put to use when he answered. "Yeah, I've read about it somewhere. It's like when a liger, born from a tiger and a lion possesses qualities superior to both parents."

"Half-ghouls are way superior to pure ghouls. And it's said that their Kakugan manifests itself in only one eye." She held one eye open with her Kakugan showing for dramatic emphasis before letting her eyes go back to normal. "Although it's still unclear of that's even true. It's almost an urban legend. But they say that one-eyed ghouls really do exist."

"Where is this ghoul?" The younger ghoul asked. He wondered if this other one-eyed ghoul might have any tips for him.

She shrugged. "Who knows? I hear rumors, but I've never actually met one. Eyewitness accounts from back in the day are unreliable. We don't even know if it's a man or a woman. Some say it's an old man."

"I heard it was a small child. Somebody in my ward claims they saw one." Uta chipped in.

"Hey, Kaneki. You shouldn't probably shouldn't get any ideas about meeting one. I haven't heard anything positive about one-eyed ghouls." Itori commented leaning back in her chair. "I hear they're voracious and even eat their own kind. So scary."

 _Eat their own kind…_ Kaneki repeated. Somehow he knew that part of these legends might have stemmed from Marcus' actions when he was younger. So, he didn't put a lot of faith in these rumors after all they were rumors.

"But if other ghouls find out about you, they'll take you for the rumored one-eyed ghoul." The mask maker warned.

"I-I don't want that." The half-breed squeaked fearfully. Then he remembered a certain unpleasant ghoul. "Oh, but when I was attacked by Nishio, he didn't seem to notice anything."

"Nishio? Oh, Nishiki. The smarty pants. The pharmaceutical department at Kamii's hard to get onto even for humans, isn't it?" She had heard of him and he had a reputation for being an asshole. "He probably doesn't know cuz he's still young, talk of a one-eyed ghoul started up a while back."

"Well, what's everyone talking about these days?" He asked curiously.

"About you! What else?! A one-eyed ghoul appearing outta nowhere like a comet! Ken Kaneki! Coinciding with the mysterious death if Rize Kamishiro. The geeks are exchanging hypothesis about you daily." The bar owner returned to her gleeful self as she patted him on the back enthusiastically.

"Mysterious death? That was an accident." The newer member of Anteiku questioned innocently.

Yomo leveled his eyes towards the dark haired teen.

"Oh? How heartless of Yoshimura. He hasn't told a thing, has he?" The bar owner hummed questioningly before looking at him conspiratorially. "Do you really believe that was just an accident? Mr. Kaneki Ken? If it was, what the hell kinda safety measures did the construction company have in place? You hear what I'm saying? First of all, they would never stack any unnecessary steel frames up there."

"I don't quite understand what you're…" The reserved teen slowly stated as he started getting scared of what she was insinuating.

The stoic man all but growled. "Itori, stop."

She ignored him and kept telling the truth about that fateful night. "Somebody claims they saw a figure on top of the building that night. Sounds mysterious, huh? Then the steel frames fell."

"So that wasn't a coincidence?" The half-breed asked in shock.

"Nope. Somebody killed Rize."

He turned to Yomo. "Did Mr. Yoshimura know?"

With a scowl, the white-haired ghoul answered. "Mr. Yoshimura kept quiet about it. He didn't want to confuse."

 _So I was the bait in the plan to murder Rize, and I became a ghoul because I accidentally got mixed up in it._ The man-made half-breed whispered disdainfully. "What the hell? Why would anybody?"

"It's not that hard to guess." The bar owner stated.

"Who?!" He demanded. "Who would?!"

"I can't tell you any more. You see, a lot of information about both humans and ghouls is brought here. Information is a very valuable thing. Even more so than you think. So I can't give it to you for nothing." She poured herself a glass of blood as she spoke in a tone that clearly meant business.

Kaneki then understood her place in the ghoul society. She was an info broker. She collected information and secrets and then sold them to people who want to know. What better place to do that than a bar where the people you're stealing secrets from, are too drunk to realize what they're giving away.

"Then what do I need to do?" He desperately asked.

"What'll you do if I tell you? Get revenge?" She answered with a question, taking a taste of her drink.

His certainty and urgency faded slightly as he mumbled. "I won't do that. But…"

"But you wanna know, don't you? It is about you after all." She finished understandingly. She set her down her glass and thought about it for a second. Then she clapped her hands and exclaimed. "How about a trade?!"

"A trade?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion.

She leaned closer to him and said. "There's a piece of information I want. You're being followed around by the Gourmet, aren't you?"

The info broker leaned over and whispered in his ear holding a hand up to block others from lip reading. "See what you can find out about the ghoul restaurant from the Gourmet."

"Ghoul restaurant?" He queried, leaning away uncomfortably.

She gave him his private bubble back and confirmed. "Yup. It could be membership-only or a some kinda secret salon. I have a customer who desperately wants to go. I know it exists somewhere in the city but they're so secretive. I thought the Gourmet might know. I figured the quickest way would be to ask you. Tsukiyama likes you, doesn't he? If we can figure out what it is, I can score points with my customer and you'll find out what you want to. Everybody's happy. Will you do this for me, Kaneki?" She brought her hands together and pleaded.

"Uh, sure." He answered. "I'll do that."

"Awesome!" She laughed. "How 'bout you join us for a few drinks? Have a few laughs?"

"Sorry, but I'm underage and I gotta get going. Things to do and all." He laughed shyly as he stood.

Itori pouted while grumbling. "Killjoy. I wasn't gonna serve any alcohol either."

"Later." Uta waved goodbye while Yomo just nodded.

"Bye," Kaneki said as he left, putting on his eyepatch.

The half-breed started the walk home. His thoughts were plagued by how he was going to get Tsukiyama to talk about the Ghoul Restaurant. If he was part of it. The student could ask casually but that might not work. The Gourmet probably wouldn't tell him. If it was a secret salon or something similar, he'd try to keep it a secret. It was certainly a puzzle.

Kaneki stopped in his tracks as he looked around and he realized that he had no clue where he was. _Crap, where am. I wasn't thinking about where I was going._

The Twentieth ward was to the north of the fourteenth so he started heading that way, Maybe he might stumble across some familiar territory. As he walked he heard harsh voices in an alley with some scuffling of shoes against concrete and flying fists hitting flesh.

 _A fight?_ The half-breed thought as he hid from the people in the alley and peeked around the corner. A group of three men, all looking gruff with their buzz cuts and blue jumpsuits plus from their smell they're ghouls. They were all pounding on a man who was face first on the ground. As the man cried out in pain, the student took a closer look and saw that it Nishio Nishiki of all people. He looked worse for wear. His clothes were dirtied and torn, and he had a black eye with a cut lip. They continued beating Nishio while the dark haired ghoul thought as he turned to leave. _Nishio attacked Hide and I. There's no reason for me to help him._

"Should we do this arm first?" Laughed one of the men as he grabbed one of Nishio's arms, then started pulling and twisting and the sound of bones breaking could be heard by Kaneki.

The half-breed stopped when he heard the hazelnut haired ghoul scream. He turned around and stepped into the ally saying shyly. "U-um, excuse me. Aren't you going too far?"

Nishio looked towards his fellow Kamii university student and muttered. "Kaneki… Ken."

One of the jumpsuit-wearing men heard this and started stalking towards the introverted ghoul threateningly. "You friends with this guy or something?"

"No. Not exactly." The dark haired student raised his placatingly.

"He ain't got no friends." Said another of the men as he stepped on the beaten ghoul's head. "This cocky wannabe is a lone wolf."

The one who confronted the eye patch wearer started backing him towards the wall. "Who the hell are you anyway? You know where you are?"

"Sorry, I got lost." The half-breed smiled nervously.

"You a ghoul? Which ward are you from?" The first gruff ghoul asked with a scowl.

"Th-the twentieth." The younger ghoul answered with a stutter.

They started laughing. The one stepping on Nishio's head repeated incredulously. "The twentieth, huh?"

"Hey kid, Let me tell you a little something. What we're doing here is something we're into." The ghoul in front of Kaneki tapped into his abilities and swung a fist at him. "Eating our own kind!"

The half-breed ducked below the fist and it carved a gash into the wall. He started monologuing as his target started taking a few cautious steps back. "We were talking about who to play with tonight and found Nishiki here walking around. He's actually pretty tough so we usually stay away from him, but he seemed weak from injuries and hunger. We know he won't taste good. But there'll be a sense of accomplishment!" He threw another punch at his enemy.

The dark haired student brought his arm up and blocked the blow. The cannibal exclaimed. "Oh? You got some moves!"

"All he's doing is dodging. Stop moving around." Said the second ghoul.

The third ghoul laughed crazily. "Do him already."

 _Why are ghouls so hot-blooded? It may be Nishio's own fault that he's hated but they've gone too far._ Kaneki thought as he brought fists up in a stance.

The cannibal attacked with a jab that the dark haired ghoul blocked easily then countered with a kick to the side. As the rugged ghoul jerked to the side from the strike and grunting in pain, the student thought he might have a better chance at beating these guys than he thought. For all their tough talk, menacing stares and posturing these guys might actually be pathetic. After all, they said they avoided beating up Nishiki until he was weakened. Touka would call these guys bottom feeders. So with that in mind, the teen came around with a solid right hook. It connected and the guys face all but deformed from the force. The younger ghoul thought he felt bones break. The aggressive ghoul groaned as he dropped to his knees and keeled over unconscious.

 _It worked._ Kaneki thought surprised.

"Wait. D-dude." Said the second one skittishly as his less than sharp brain finally pieced things together. "This guy might the Twentieth ward's Eyepatch that killed the investigators from the main office."

"What?" Exclaimed the third ghoul. "You serious?!"

"Yeah, that's him! Let's get the fuck outta here!"

"What about Ni-"

"Forgot him!"

The two ghouls blew past Eyepatch and ran for the hills. _That wasn't me._ He helplessly thought.

Sighing, Kaneki walked over to Nishiki and checked on him. He looked like he was used as a punching bag, for lack of a better term, but he was still breathing. Though it was weak and wheezing. He thought about leaving the injured ghoul behind, he had done his part and saved him. However, it was a fleeting thought. Leaving him would be the same as a death sentence. The Hazelnut haired ghoul was a fox stuck in a jaw trap, something would come and pick him off eventually. He stepped over to what he thought was the least injured side and got an arm under the defenseless ghoul, hefting him up. Judging from the small amount of painful groaning he had gotten on the right side. He threw the older college student's arm over his shoulder and held him up as he started walking.

"Fuck… off." Nishiki half groaned half growled.

Kaneki ignored him and asked. "Where do you live?"

"Didn't you hear me? Fuck off." The abrasive teen insisted

The half-breed stopped and stated. "You're a sitting duck. You won't get back home alive. I don't want that on my conscience. So I'm taking you to where ever you live. It's up to you whether we walk around for hours looking for it or we go straight there. Also, I should let you know, I'm lost."

The hazelnut haired student glared at him for a second to see if he was serious and upon seeing that he was he growled before saying. "We're at the northwestern tip of the fourteenth ward, I live at Kamii's south dorms on the second floor."

"Awesome! I was heading the right direction!" The half-ghoul student exclaimed as he started heading north again.

The full-blooded deadpanned which made him look just dead. "Idiot."

Nishiki stayed quiet for most the walk to the south dorms mostly trying to deal with the pain but as they were coming up to them, he finally lost his patience. "I'll… kill you… Acting all high and mighty… I'll kill you… Damn it… why me?"

He shut up quickly as he had to stifle his screams of pain as Kaneki went up the stairs of the dorm building. The younger student started to go left when the injured ghoul snapped. "Wrong way, dumbass."

"Sorry, sorry." The half-breed turned around and started going that direction. After a few doors, his charge made a gesture with his good arm telling the benevolent one of the pair to stop at the next door. He did and asked. "Is this it?"

"Once I'm better you're…"

"Yeah, yeah, but not in the condition you're in." _Least you could do is thank me._

He noticed a set of keys hanging from the helpless ghoul's belt on a clip. He took them and on the first try, he opened the door. It was a small studio apartment. The kitchen facilities were meager and the bathroom was probably a half bath. He had no furniture except for a small tv stand which held a 20-inch tv and a desk for his laptop. As for a bed, he had a mattress on the floor with sheets on it. Strewn throughout the room were vending machine coffee cans and the contents of the open first aid kit by the bed.

Dragging the owner onto his own apartment, the philanthropist set him on the floor as gently as possible while suggesting. "You should get help from Mr. Yoshimura."

The injured one wheezed. "I ain't going to that old fart."

 _I got him home. I should get going._ Kaneki turned to leave just in time to see Nishio's girlfriend start coming at him with a pissed off look and a Taser. Like most people when they see someone with both of those things charging, the half-breed chose to get out of way. He managed to squeeze past her and into the outside hallway.

She turned towards him and pointed with the Taser, demanding. "Are you the narcissist?"

"Narcissist?!" Kaneki exclaimed ready to dodge again as she looked like she was ready to charge again.

"Kimi… Stop!" Nishiki called out barely able to raise his voice enough to get her to do so but she heard him. "He's Kaneki Ken, not that other guy and he didn't do this to me…"

"Nishiki!" She cried as she saw his injuries, rushed over to his side and sat beside him. She dropped the Taser a safe distance away and pulled him into her arms and lap as she worried. "You look terrible! Where were you?! Did you forget you were hurt?! Your stomach wound could've opened back up!"

"What was I supposed to do? I was going crazy from being so hungry." He weakly argued.

"Stay here. I'll take care of you." She whispered to him. "I'm scared something's gonna happen to you, Nishiki. I saw him on campus the today, that guy you called the narcissist. I thought he came looking for you. That's why I'm here."

He frowned. "Tsukiyama, huh? Damn it. What was he doing at the school? Stay away from him. You don't want him setting his sights on you."

Kaneki had been watching the way they interacted and he realized something. _She knows he's a ghoul?_

"It all started when Rize died. Ever since then everything's gone crazy around here." A coughing fit came over him interrupting his statement, his significant other looked at him worryingly, and when he was able to he continued, "Weird ghouls showing up. Doves dying. I can barely hunt anymore, damn it.

 _The figure on top of the building causing the "accident" that killed Rize. Tsukiyama possibly being in the Ghoul Restaurant and taking an interest in me._ With these things, Kaneki couldn't help feeling at fault for Nishiki's problems.

Kimi had noticed the guilty look on his face but ignored it, choosing to take care of Nishio first. She carried him onto the mattress. She checked his bandages and miraculously after his beat down the wound hadn't opened again, so she gave him several painkillers that brought on sleep quickly. She pulled the sheets over him affectionately and left the apartment, shutting the door behind her.

Kimi looked at the half-breed and said. "Kaneki."

"Yes?" Kaneki politely replied.

"You're a ghoul, aren't you?"

"Wha?!" he all about panicked as he tried to deny it. "N-no, I'm…"

"Nishiki told me." She explained shooting down any ideas of lying. As the confused boy tried to figure out why Nishio would do that, she stepped forward and grabbed his hands, pleading. "Please! Don't say anything about this. I won't tell anyone about you either."

The ghoul student blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Please. Nishiki can't get away right now if someone comes after him. Besides, I'll be punished harshly for harboring a ghoul too. It's a lot worse than harboring a human criminal. That's the law. So please, don't tell anyone about us." The conflict in her eyes was visible. She worried about the punishment but she was also determined to protect Nishiki. Her love was overriding her fear, if only just.

"Why would I tell anybody?" The dark haired teen assured. _The issue is if she'll really keep quiet about me. The fact that Nishio allows her to be near him, despite her knowing what he really is, does kind of mean she can be trusted._ However, he had to be sure. "You're human, right? Why are you with a ghoul, aren't you afraid?"

She looked off to the side as she admitted. "Sure, it was a shock at first. I wasn't sure about it. But now, I just want to be close to him."

"Even if he kills people?" The Anteiku employee interrogated.

It only took her a second or two to think about it. "I think I'll keep looking the other way unless he kills someone close to me. He needs bodies and I know those aren't easy to come by. If necessary, I'll be the body he needs. If I'd been born a ghoul I think I would've killed people. I just happened to be born a human. That's the only reason why I'm allowed to live a moral life." She finished with utter surety.

Kaneki was taken aback by this. She understood the only real thing dividing ghouls and humans. Circumstance. Ghouls didn't actively choose to eat humans that's just how their bodies are. Much like how Africans didn't choose to be dark skinned. Their environment caused their ancestors to evolve a certain way so that they could survive as a species and it's been that way. It had to be same for ghouls. Evolution had made them this way for their survival.

 _If only more people saw that._ Kaneki nodded. "Okay. I promise not to tell."

Her eyes lit up happily as Kimi exclaimed. "Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She shook his hand vigorously. Gratefulness coloring her voice. "You won't regret this."

"I know." He agreed, smiling at her positiveness.

"I should go and keep an eye on Nishiki." She let go of the half-breed's hands and stepped inside Nishio's apartment.

The college started walking home feeling somewhat better about life. While Kimi's feelings did seem like blind faith but maybe it was one way for a ghoul and a human to coexist. Nevertheless, he was surprised that there anybody who could think the way she does. If the people at Anteiku hadn't helped him, the dark-haired ghoul realized that he would either be a murderer or a victim of starvation by now. Even if it's a life in shackles if you have somebody who accepts you for what you really are, how reassuring would that be?

* * *

Marcus scribbled out another set of words that was supposed to be how he felt but it wasn't. He turned to the next page in the notebook and attempted it again for the twenty-fifth time today bringing the grand total for the week to about four hundred. He slammed his head on the coffee table in Anteiku as it started to sound wrong again.

 _Tell her how you feel, it'll work. Bloody hell._

"Oy!" Touka called out. "Quit writing fanfiction and get back to work!"

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled as he tossed the notebook and pencil into the small cloth bag he carried them in.

Sunday mornings were always the slowest thanks to church thus the shop was generally only manned by one or two people. This Sunday it was decided that it would be Touka and Marcus, because, y'know, torture. It was so awkward between them. Touka was still holding her grudge and Marcus was still trying to apologize. He's been trying to write down how he felt so he could get it right when he told her but between her essentially looking over her shoulder and no being able to actually get it out he's been getting nowhere.

"There's not a whole lot to do anyways," Marcus grumbled as he stepped behind the counter and started pointlessly organizing the coffee jars on the shelves.

Touka shot back. "Tough luck. You here to work so work."

' **So heartless.** ' Xeno noted with a wolfish grin.

Marcus snapped, making sure not to say it out loud. 'Shut up in there.'

' **Just make up with her already and tap that ass.** ' The psycho commanded.

'Your idea of romance is equivalent to that of a porn star's.' The anime nerd deadpanned.

' **Yeah. And?** '

A figure formed out of black smoke to Marcus' left and it looked just like him. The copy cat wore black rock star pants like the one's used when he hunts, but he also wore an open black haori with red at the fringes of the skirt and sleeves. The false British ghoul had his black hair slicked back. Their mask that matched the real one was dangling around their neck. He had an absolute insane grin one and his eyes were a solid black, no whites at all, only made him look demonic to add to the insanity. Probably the only real downside to his recent upgrade. Xeno now could manifest as a hallucination and that was how he looked.

'What the hell is up with you today? You're acting like a hormonal teenager.'

' **We are a hormonal teenager.** '

Marcus' eyebrow twitched irritatingly as he changed his statement. 'Fine, a drunk hormonal teenager.'

' **Maybe high too.** ' The hallucination chipped in as he sat on the counter.

The Brit barely kept from growling audibly. 'Just answer the question.'

The instinctual of the two just shrugged. ' **Not at all. Maybe it's all this sexual tension.** ' He gestured between the two teen ghouls.

That made the dark haired ghoul react visibly. He stared at the apparition in embarrassed shock. 'What sexual tension?! There isn't any sexual tension!'

' **Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore! You're in denial!** ' The alternate personality teased.

'Sh-shut up! Go away, you're distracting me from my work!'

' **Touka and Marcus sitting in a tree k-i-s-s** …' Xeno sang as he vanished in a plume of black smoke, his voice fading into nothingness.

Marcus pursed his lips angrily and got back to work. He wiped at the sweat on his forehead, it was a little hot in the coffee shop. He noticed that one of their richer blends were getting low. He turned to Touka and said. "Hey, I'm headed to the back kitchen, we're low on the rich dark roast."

"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up." She replied dismissively.

The Kakuja sighed and grabbed the near empty jar and went to the back kitchen. Touka's standoffish act she's got going against him was starting to annoy him some. Yes, yes, he kept secrets but it's not like she didn't keep some secrets of her own. She kept quiet about Yoriko. Of course, it's not like Yoriko is a super Kakuja with a raging, homicidal, cannibalistic, alternative personality in her head. However, the point was she is stretching this vindictive payback thing a bit much. He wished that she could just forgive him already.

 _I could make her forgive me._ As quickly as the thought came along it left. He shook his head confused. "Where'd that come from?"

Marcus went to the cabinets where they kept the extra coffee. He tried to focus on dong his job. Getting the large container of rich dark roast coffee beans and filling the jar back up. However, he kept thinking about Touka and in not a good way. He thought about her in. much lewder. Not like he hadn't before, he was a teenage boy but this was different. He thought more beyond the usual "She's hot." He thought of her luscious body, of what he could do to her, of how he could convince her to not be mad at him. He thought of how her thighs would feel. With smooth skin and firm muscle. He wondered how her violet eyes would look as he partook of her.

 _No! What am I thinking?! She would hate me if I did that!_ He started feeling really hot and wiped at his profusely sweating forehead which felt like he could've used it as a stove top. He wanted to blame Xeno for this but he knew somehow that the alt-personality wasn't at fault. These thoughts, as alien as they were, they were his. The urges started to get stronger and he fought them back. A wave of lethargy hit him and he lost his balance. The large container of coffee beans fell out of his hand and hit the ground with a loud clatter. He tried to hold himself up by placing his hands on the table but he still lost his balance. In the scramble to keep himself from dropping to his knees, he shoved the jar off the table and it shattered. The lethargy became nausea.

Touka had heard the first clatter but ignored it, assuming that he had just dropped something but when she heard the crash of glass she became concerned for whatever he was destroying. "What is that idiot doing?"

Her concern quickly changed to real worry when she stepped into the kitchen and see him on his knees, a hand on the table was the only thing that keeps him from going prone. She rushed over and started to lift him back to his feet. However, his limbs were weak which made it difficult. He wanted to help but her presence only made the urges stronger and he had to devote more strength to fight them.

"What the hell's up, Marcus?" Touka asked worriedly. She could feel how warm he was, like a furnace for a blacksmith. "Come on talk."

Suddenly, she was forced back against the cabinets. Marcus had his hands placed on the wall on either side of her. She looked at him in surprise and saw a hollowness in his eyes. If she could see into his mind she would know that he had lost the fight to whatever was going on with him. He leaned uncomfortably close to her face and he inhaled her scent deeply. Her apprehension and confusion turned into alarm. She lashed out with her arms trying to get him to back off but he grabbed them both by the wrists and pinned them above her hand.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" She snapped both anger and panic in her voice as she started to thrash around hoping to break his hold.

She froze as he pressed himself flush against her and he nuzzled his head against hers like a cat. _What the hell?_ She thought.

Touka knew this wasn't Xeno. She never met him but she heard the many descriptions of how he acts. He would dispense with the pleasantries and take her. It wasn't Marcus in the pilot's seat, though. Not wholly. Her thought process came to a grinding as he started nibbling at her neck causing her to squeak without thinking about it. He brought a leg between her legs. She tried to think but it was hard thanks to his caresses and his warm breath made the skin in her neck prickle. It sucked for her to admit it but he was getting to her. She was inexperienced in this department and he was coming on hard. Between this and raging hormones, she was done for.

Marcus' hand started to tease down her side and her breath hitched. He caressed her stomach then the clothing started to become an annoyance. The shirt pulled up and he slipped his hand under it and started to move up. She losing her will to fight more and more by the second.

Then he stopped and started pulling back his movements became stiffer and shaky. Somehow he got a surge of willpower to fight against the urges.

Xeno called out from the depths of his mind. ' **Fight it! Run! Get away from her! I can only hold it back for so long before I fall to it, too!** '

With a burst of mental strength, he managed to growl out. "Hit… me."

"What?" Touka asked through the sexual haze.

"I can't… control myself… for much longer. Hit me!" He commanded with urgency.

She understood and pushed through her arousal. She couldn't hit him. Her arms were still trapped in his T-1000 like grip. She was too close for a decent cup shot. So, she settled for a mental recalibration. She shoved him back with her body to allow room to rear her head back and slam it into his. He cried out in equally pained and startled. He stumbled back, letting her go, and slammed into the table shifting them back a few inches. The blow broke his nose. The sudden spike of pain brought back some of his sense of self.

Marcus looked at Touka and he hated what he saw. She was still backed up against the wall, holding a loose fighting stance, ready to defend if he came back at her. Her eyes held fear and one of her arms were covering her chest as though she was naked. He could see that she felt violated by him. He knew that had fucked up on a level that was deeper than simply not telling her the truth. That was mendable but this could never be fixed. She would always remember this moment. The moment when he really became a monster in her eyes.

"I'm Sorry." He whispered despairingly then he ran.

Marcus ran for the underground passage. He dashed through the meat locker and jumped down the ladder tunnel. The urge to go back to Touka started growing and he fought it as hard as he could but he couldn't focus on running. He landed in a crouch then shot towards the tunnels of the twenty-fourth ward. He found the first open water source and dove in. The cold hit him like a Mack Truck and it cleansed his thoughts. He pulled himself out of the water and the smell of the feces infested water soaking his clothing ensured his mind was clear. He sprinted through the tunnels, heading for home. He needed Chigyou. He would be able to tell him what was wrong.

* * *

Akira was sitting at her desk working on a pile of paperwork when her phone rang. She pulled it out and saw the caller ID was her home phone. She had a landline just in case. She answered. "Hello?"

"Get… Chigyou…" Marcus' voice answered sickly and wheezing.

"Marcus?!" She cried, rising out of her seat in alarm.

"At… home… bring… Chigyou." He told her. "Hurry…"

"Okay, I'll be there. Just hang in there." She told him hanging up the phone. Akira quickly gathered her things and ran out of the office. Straight into Arima. She stumbled back in surprise and exclaimed. "Mr. Arima!"

He looked down at her with apathetic eyes, which was easy because he was six inches taller. He asked dispassionately. "Ms. Mado. Where are you rushing to?"

"I have an emergency with my son, sir." She stated trying not to be disrespectful in her urgency.

"That's right. Marcus is his name, correct? I apologize for being in the way, you may continue." He stepped to the side and let her pass. "We must have a discussion about him sometime. There are things we need to discuss."

"Of course, sir." She answered with a quick yet respectful bow before resuming her rush to the CCG laboratory.

Chigyou was reviewing the plans for a new Quinque weapon involving Kakujas when Akira burst in, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out. She shot off something about Marcus need his help. The ghoul expert barely had time to grab the portable lab kit he set up for Marcus specifically. Then he had to hang on for dear life as she drove like a maniac. High speeds and drifting around corners. If there was a traffic law she broke it. The only reason she wasn't pulled over was she had her portable siren going. Which he was sure was also illegal but that was just a detail.

Akira quickly parked her car in the parking lot of her apartment and got out dragging Dr. Chigyou with her. She barely remembered to lock her car. The concerned mother dragged the doctor to her door and had to strain herself to not kick it down. She tried the door and it was unlocked. Stepping in, she almost slipped on a puddle in front of the door. The investigator drew the pistol from the rear hip holster underneath her clothes, cursing herself for forgetting her Quinque. She cleared the kitchen first. The freezer door open and the ice bag was hanging out of it. Half melted ice cubes were strewn all over the kitchen floor. The sink was running with water.

"What the…?" Akira muttered.

"Over here," Chigyou called from the living room.

She turned and saw the doctor crouching by her chair and a prone Marcus. The chair blocked her view from seeing anything but his legs. He was on his side and he wasn't moving. Thinking the worst she ran over with a cry. "Marcus!"

Once Akira got around the chair she could see that he wasn't injured. However, his was sopping wet and he was sweating as though he was taking a steam bath. His skin was flushed and he was taking slow wheezing breaths. He also smelled like a sewer. At first glance, it looked like he had a fever from hell. Which Chigyou agreed with. He placed his hand on Marcus' forehead to get a general feel for his temperature but had to bring his hand back quickly as it actually hurt to touch him he was so hot. He was willing to bet that ghouls had a higher fever tolerance, Marcus especially but he had to be a hundred fifty plus for it to actually burn. If he had to guess, the Kakuja's tolerance was only one thirty, one forty max.

"That's what the ice was for." He muttered.

"What?" She asked.

"He's burning up badly. Feel him." He stated and she did getting similar results. "He's gotta above his tolerance level and he knew that so he was trying to cool himself down."

"We need to get him into a cold shower." She ordered.

"You're right plus he stinks."

Akira glared at him for his remark but he shrugged it off. Chigyou stepped aside to allow her to pick up Marcus bridal style. Even his clothes were ungodly warm. "That way. It's the closest bathroom." She told the doctor, nodding her head toward the sick teen's bedroom door.

He moved quickly and opened the door to let them through. Thankfully the bathroom door was open so she went straight to it. She set the ghoul on the floor and quickly stripped him of his clothing before setting him in the tub. She turned on the shower to it's coldest setting. When the water first hit him, actual steam came off him for a few seconds. She pulled curtains closed giving him privacy for when he woke up.

She stepped back into the bedroom where Chigyou waited with more instructions. "We need this room to be a freezer. See what you can do about that."

He set down lab kit and opened it, starting to fiddle with some of the instruments while went out into the living and start closing the all the air vents. She then set the AC to fifty. She returned to the bedroom where Chigyou was using Marcus' desk to hold various blood testing equipment and some kind of portable microscope.

"Jeez, a bit overkill there?" She asked crossing her arms.

"Hopefully." He answered with a serious expression, "Whatever's ailing him is bad. If it became an epidemic it would be terrible. No one has his fever tolerance."

"I see. Let's hope it isn't that." She replied.

The cold water eventually stirred Marcus back to consciousness. It had also calmed down his urges and the cold air from the AC helped too. He croaked out. "Mum?

Akira rushed to the bathroom when she heard her son's voice, Chigyou followed calmly. She crouched beside the shower and said softly. "Hey there, Newt. How are you feeling?"

He brought up a weak hand and pulled back the curtain just enough so that he could see her and her him. "Still pretty warm but better than before. However judging from the shrinkage I think we can give up on the idea of kids." He added with a wry smile.

She chuckled, glad to see that he was well enough to joke. "Well, that sucks. You and Touka would've had great kids."

Instead of the flustered expression she expected, Akira saw regret in his eyes and he turned his head away from her. She leaned forward curiously and concerned, asking softly "What is it?"

Marcus told them what happened. Akira was in shock, she reached out petted the back of his head comfortingly. She could see that he was hurting from this

Chigyou was curious in a scientific manner. "Interesting. Such an unusual reaction. When you're ready, please come out. I need to run some tests." He returned to his lab kit and began getting the things he required now that he had an idea what he was dealing with.

Marcus sighed and kindly requested. "Get my night clothes, please."

"Of course," Akira replied getting up to do that.

He placed his hands on the edges of the tub and tried to get up, but his muscles screamed in agony and he dropped. He thumped into the tub nearly hitting his head and a cry of "Fuck!"

She rushed back in with clothes in hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just… a little weak." He mumbled ashamedly. "Could ya help?"

"Of course."

Akira turned off the water to the shower. She wrapped an arm under Marcus' and help him stand up. He stepped out of the tub with her help and got dressed. She kept him up as he walked into his bedroom and onto his bed. Chigyou let the Kakuja rest for a short while before poking and prodding him. He took several blood samples and a couple saliva samples. He studied both fluids underneath the microscope. Akira had gone to get a jacket in that time as it was really starting to get cold.

Chigyou turned and sighed. "I can't tell too much from the equipment I have here but I can inference. It is as I thought you are going through a form of heat. Though it is unusual. These symptoms are hard to explain but if I had to guess they're from your resistance to it. It like those cliché love songs. Your mind says no but your body says yes. However, unlike those love songs, your body is revolting. It keeps pushing, producing more hormones which at a high number would cause these symptoms. I never expected that it would happen like this."

 _Expected?_ Akira then snapped. "What? You knew this would happen?"

"Mostly, yes." He admitted. "I had been able to match a portion to his DNA to that of mammals with heat cycles. Which is unusual to see in you as it's females that experience a heat cycle but it was there. I held off telling you so that I could learn more about it and try to get ahead. Obviously, that didn't work."

"So how long do you think it'll last?" Akira asked sitting on the bed beside her son.

"That's uncertain. It could be anywhere from a few weeks to close to a couple months. I won't know till I get these samples back to the lab." He answered as he put away his equipment and samples.

"Alright. Thanks for dropping everything and coming over." She said gratefully. If he hadn't been here and things were worse than they really are.

"Not like I had a choice." He mumbled. "But yeah, anytime."

Chigyou left, wondering how in the hell he was going to get back to the Research building.

The investigator turned to her son who had a miserable look on his face. "Hey, this is just a road bump, we'll get through this. It'll be okay."

"No, it won't." He replied spiritlessly. "How can I look at Touka knowing that she will always remember what I did to her."

"It wasn't you, though. Not really. You didn't have control." She tried reasoning.

"It doesn't matter. I still did it. That impression has been made and she won't forget it." He rolled over on his side facing away from her. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him comfortingly. He mumbled. "Why do I have to be like this?"

"I don't know. I wish I did. Don't hate yourself for things that were out of your control. Get through this…heat cycle. Learn all the quirks about so the next time it comes around, we'll be ready." She told him.

"If there is a next time."

"There will be." She assured. "It may not seem like it but there will be one. Try not to worry about what happened. That's in the past. Focus on now, and face tomorrow."

He smiled faintly. "Not bad. Kamina could use that speech. Thanks though."

She chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. "Of course, Newt. You have plenty time, think of how you're gonna make it all up to Touka. She'll have time to mull it all over till then. Maybe she'll recover from the shock and be ready to talk."

"Sure." He answered. "That sounds like a pretty good idea."

"First, get some rest. You need your strength."

"Kay."

Akira stood and left the room turning off the light. She closed the door as silently as she could. She turned around and saw someone standing by the love seat. Only seeing that someone had come into her home without her knowledge or permission, she acted on instinct, drew her pistol, and aimed it at him.

"Please calm down. Ms. Mado. We wouldn't want an accident." Yoshimura said calmly as he raised a placating hand.

Akira sighed exasperatedly as holstered the gun. "You are quiet. You really shouldn't sneak up on me in my home."

"My apologies."

A grim look took her face as she stated. "So. You came to make good on your promise."

"That was my intention." He gestured to the island in the kitchen. "May we sit."

"Of course," She answered sitting at one end of the island and he sat at the other.

"I came back to the shop after running some errands. Everything looked fine. Touka had things under control and it wasn't too busy. However, I had noticed that Marcus wasn't anywhere to be seen so I asked her about it." The manager explained calmly with a grim look. "She suddenly became scared and shook up. You know as well as I do that's out of character for her."

"I do." The investigator nodded.

He continued. "I knew that this was something that needed to be talked about so I called Irimi and had her come down so she could take over while Touka and I talked. It was difficult for her to speak about it, she was so disturbed by what happened but she did tell me. You know what happened, yes?"

"Yes. Marcus told me." She answered looking down sadly.

"It is unfortunate." He agreed with her unspoken sentiments. "I was extremely unpleased by this. I had hoped not to have to defend my employees from him, let alone from something like this. However, I was also curious. He abhorred the concept of such things as rape and molestation and Xeno agreed. When Touka was attacked by that human he did joke around about it after but he was concerned. Deeply."

She added. "He really does quite hate them. Even in his anime and manga. When he read Berserk, which is famous for containing such content, he took those scenes quite personally. He even refused to read them for a while."

"Precisely. So. For either one of them to do anything along those lines seems out of place and I came for answers. Hearing the way Marcus spoke gave them to me. He didn't sound like someone he did what he did with any intention. He regrets it very much."

"He does. Actually, it's tearing him apart and it's not hard to see why." She turned to look at Marcus' room. "There was already a rift between them but it wasn't one that wasn't easily mendable. He did lie to her about what he really was, but it's a lie all ghouls share. She could get that. But this… this is personal. Being raped is a terrifying thought, I can attest to that. For him to try that against her. The same person who saved me from the same fate and helps me get through the after effects, who also is probably the closest to her heart out of everyone she knows. It's far more damaging. He sees it as the greatest sin possible. To know that he's capable of such actions, and such thoughts deep down. It terrifies him. He has always taken what he is to heart but now he believes he's a monster. Unable to be able to be part of simple interaction. I know honestly don't know if this rift can be healed now."

The old ghoul hummed disagreeably. "I wouldn't say that, if anything, in a weird way it may help to reforge and strengthen their bond."

She turned to face him with shock. "How?"

"After I heard the story of what happened, I quickly stood to leave." He then smiled faintly and proudly. "To my surprise, Touka leapt to his defense. She told him. 'Don't kill him! It wasn't his fault! He wasn't in control!' She was so sure that he wasn't at fault. I got to admit, she changed my mind some. She may act like she hates him but he's important to her. All she's doing is teaching him not to lie to her again."

"They're pretty similar to each and I think they take comfort in that. They know that they would have each other's back with full trust." She analyzed resting her head in her hands.

He nodded. "For Touka to trust someone like that is major for her. She's been in Anteiku for many years and I don't think she trusts even me on that level."

"I think he also shows that going everything that they did it's still possible to come out the other end, a good person. So, she sees hope in that." The blonde human frowned. "However, I think that knowing Marcus is the No-eyed demon. Crushed that some. She's afraid that her Marcus wasn't real so she's also trying to distance herself so she won't get hurt again, despite her faith in him."

"He may accept his unique nature but he's spent most of his life as the demon. He wants to know something else, Touka teaches him that. The events that have been happening between them has been weakening his drive to be something more because he believes that there's point in it if Touka doesn't believe he can be more either." He summed up.

She sighed. "That's means that the only ones who can help them…"

"… are each other. Yes." He finished.

"So do we just wait for them to just talk it out?" The Mado heiress asked.

"Yes." The peaceful ghoul affirmed, "But do not worry. They will gravitate to each other. This rift will become too much for them and they will talk."

"I guess you're right."

"You know, this is the first time we've really met." He pointed.

She chuckled, "Yeah, you're right. We've only said a few sentence to each other and that's about it. Unfortunate that it's underneath these circumstances."

He stood and leaned across the table and held a hand to shake. "Yoshimura."

She stood and leaned too, shaking his hand. "Akira Mado.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Likewise."

Yoshimura let go of her hand and straightened. "Seeing as there's nothing to really worry about. I should be getting back and alleviate some of the worries. I would like to know the details of what's going on with Marcus."

"The most we know is that he's in some kind of mating season or heat thing. When we find out more we'll tell you." She explained straightening herself. "Also, please, keep it on the down low it is kind of embarrassing for him

"I will. Thank you." He replied and starting walking to the door.

As he opened the door, she called out. "Thank you. For listening. For giving him a chance before you acted."

He turned and smiled softly. "Of course, he's also one of my employees and that makes him family."

Akira's jaw dropped slightly at the statement and Yoshimura left. Then she smiled as she thought, _Marcus will love to hear that._

* * *

"How about this?!" Tsukiyama cried as he swung the racket and struck the ball.

It flew towards the wall with blinding speed bounced off it and came Kaneki's way. "Woah… Woah!" The half-breed exclaimed as he stumbled as he tried to hit the ball back but he tripped and fell onto his back. The ball landed in his zone and giving his opponent a point. _Why am I playing squash?_

The gourmet laughed. "You're not very athletic, are you?"

"No." The half-breed chuckled nervously.

After a few more matches, they cleaned up and changed back into their casual clothes before heading back to the coffee shop they had originally planned to go to.

"It's so odd. I've never met one of us as unathletic as you." Tsukiyama commented.

"I've never been good at sports," Kaneki explained. "Why did you want to play squash all of a sudden?"

The eccentric exclaimed happily. "A moderate amount of exercise loosens up the muscles. It's good for you. I thought it'd spice up the relaxing time we're about to spend. You have to learn how to enjoy things, Kaneki."

"You're right."

They made it to the book café that Sen Takatsuki is rumored to visit. It was a small, quaint little shop with only a few tables, a bookshelf off to the side and a small counter with an equally small menu.

They sat down at one of the tables and the sole waitress walked up to them. Tsukiyama ordered. "Two iced coffees. Let's cool off with some iced coffees, then enjoy a nice blended cup of hot coffee. It's hot in here even for me." He noted to Kaneki fanning himself with his hand.

"Sure." The half-breed agreed.

A short time passed at the waitress came back by with the iced coffees, she set them down saying. "Here you go."

"Thank you." The stylish ghoul said. They drank their coffees in quiet, enjoying the peacefulness of the café.

Then the blue haired man asked. "Well? It's perfect for reading, isn't it?"

"O-oh, yeah! It's a nice place." The college student stammered.

"Doesn't look like Takatsuki is here. Oh, that's too bad." The French-accented oddity noted then he looked at his companion in scrutiny. "By the way, Kaneki, if you were hoping to meet Takatsuki maybe you should've chosen something better to wear."

"Oh… uh… this is how I usually dress. Is it bad?" He asked shyly.

The gourmet shook his head assuredly. "It's not bad. I just think since you're rather small you'll look more proportionately by wearing something that draws attention to your upper body. Something subtle on the bottom and something a bit playful on top might work well. I love coordinating things. Depending on the arrangement and combination, the same elements will shine even brighter. I say this with all due respect, but Anteiku regulars are so shabby, I'm sorry. Not many of them put too much care into their appearances, right? That is not good, we should wear only the best, especially because of what we are." He finished his little speech with conviction.

"So that's why you're so confident." The teenage ghoul pointed out.

"But it's also the reason why our kind gives me the cold shoulder." The older ghoul by three years countered. The waitress came by having noticed that they had finished their coffees so he ordered. "Oh, two blended coffees, please."

She nodded and walked away. The dark haired student asked. "Oh, what books did you bring?"

"Ah, yes." The fashionable ghoul reached into a small bag that he had brought and pulled out a simple book with a French title written in a fanciful gold script. "I brought one of my favorites today. The French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Do you know him?"

"The Psychology of Taste?" The younger avid reader vaguely remembered the name.

"So you've read it." He confirmed positively. "The works of food connoisseurs are of great interest to me. The flavors I could never taste. The emotions I could never feel. It's all so new and unimaginable. His adage 'A dessert without a cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye.' That too is fascinating. What is the cheese for us? What is the essence that stirs up out appetite? I've tried all sorts of things, but it never ceases to amaze me. The pursuit of gastronomy is never ending. What do you like to eat by the way?"

The waitress came by again to drop off the warm coffee. The half-blooded ghoul answered nervously. "Huh?! Uh… um… I dunno. I never really thought about it. I'm actually not that fond of eating."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess some people are like that." The foodie said a bit downtrodden. Then he noticed his companion pull out a cloth bag and out of the cloth a sugar cube. "What's that?"

"Mr. Yoshimura gave it to me. He made it for me. All it does is mask my hunger gut it's more than enough for me." The nineteen-year-old stated ecstatically.

"You rely on something that unexciting." The French-accented ghoul whispered coldly.

His voice was barely heard by the younger ghoul who commented. "I'm sorry?"

"Nothing." He shook his head, glad that his newly formed friend didn't hear. "Anyway, what did you think about the book?"

"Learning the historical landscape of his time was interesting and his obsessive pursuit of food." The teen reader reviewed.

The twenty-two-year-old picked up the book and said. "There's a passage I really like about that. Let me show you."

The book suddenly slipped out of his hands and the half-blood reached out to catch it. However, the pages had fanned out and it fell between his fingers giving one of the digits a nasty paper cut.

The injured ghoul exclaimed in pain and his companion cried. "Are you okay?!"

"It's just a nick." The younger of the two assured.

The older reader pulled out a handkerchief and placed it over the wound. "I'm so sorry."

"Your handkerchief's gonna…"

"Don't worry about it. Keep it on until the bleeding stops."

"O-okay then. Thank you."

Kaneki thought it was weird that he got cut by paper. He had stabbed himself with a knife and that didn't hurt him. It could be from his eating habits. The most recent flesh he's had was that pound of flesh Yomo gave to him a month and a half ago when the battle at the waterway happened. Ghouls are supposed to be able to live off a single meal for a few months but that's after an entire human being. All he had was a pound. It could be possible his abilities were waning because of the lack of sustenance. _Never mind that, I don't mind talking about books, but how do I get him to talk about the restaurant? Maybe this way..._

"By the way, what kind of things did you talk about with Rize?" Kaneki asked. Both honestly curious and hoping to segue into the Restaurant.

"Kamishiro, huh…" Tsukiyama said thoughtfully. "She was an avid reader too. So we obviously talked about books. Or where she was before the twentieth ward. Also about food."

A year ago…

"Thanks for the invitation." Rize's playful voice purred. "But I'm not at all interested in some membership-only gourmet club."

"W-why not?! Don't want a taste of something even greater?" Tsukiyama pleaded with her.

"If it fits on a plate, it won't be enough for me. Sure, I too carefully choose my victims and the tastier they are the better but…" The binge eater chuckled teasingly. "A ghoul going to great lengths for flavor seems a bit pretentious to me. It's so human, it's almost comical. Mr. Gourmet."

Present…

"She didn't care as long as it satisfied her appetite. Like a pig huddling over a trough." Tsukiyama growled to himself more than to his companion who was starting to get unsure. "A pig! A pig! That sow! A lowly sow mocking my pursuit of food!"

"A-are you alright, Tsukiyama?" Kaneki asked hesitantly.

The gourmet was stirred from his rage-filled thoughts and had noticed that he was gripping his coffee cup so hard cracks were starting to form in it. He calmed down and apologized. "I'm sorry, I lost my cool. To be honest, we were on good terms for a little while. We had a falling out after a certain point."

"O-oh." The half-breed responded meekly. _Kinda hard not to see why. She probably wasn't easy to get along with given her habits._

"Did the bleeding stop? Let me go wash that." The blue haired ghoul offered upon seeing the bleeding had stopped.

"Thank you."

Tsukiyama took the bloodied handkerchief and went to the bathroom with it. He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face to level his head. "That was close. I should've known better. I may have alarmed him. Be cool. Stay even-keeled, Tsukiyama. You're almost there."

He turned off the water and held up the handkerchief. He looked at it for a second before pressing it against his face and inhaling deeply. Pleasure stemmed through him as he moaned lusciously. _The discovery of a new viand brings more happiness than discovering a new star!_

"A soft sweetness and a bitter acidity. A sweet aroma." He sighed carnally his eyes rolling back into his head. "Monsieur Savarin. It is exactly as you said."

 _I never got anything from him about the restaurant._ Kaneki thought to himself as they left the restaurant, having finished their drinks and paid for the broken cup. "Thank you. I had a lot of fun today."

"No. Thank you." Tsukiyama huffed wistfully. "But boy, spending a fulfilling day sure leaves you hungry."

 _This is my chance!_ The half-breed cheered internally before asking. "W-where do you usually eat? You seem like you might know a lot of nice places, maybe?" _Was that unnatural? After I had already told him I wasn't fond of eating._

The gourmet looked at the college in surprise at how easily he fell into that then he stated smoothly. "What a coincidence. I was actually hoping to take you out. I do know a place. It's a secret membership-only place. You'll be allowed in with my referral. I'd like you to have a taste of finer dining. What'd you say? If you struggle with eating I could have the chef prepare something that suits your tastes."

 _It almost feels like this is going all too smoothly, but if I go with him, Itori will tell me the truth about the accident. I have to go!_ "Sure, I'd be happy to." The dark haired replied.

"Great!" The eccentric ghoul clapped his hands splendidly. "They require some preparation, so let's get going."

Tsukiyama led the way happily and after several blocks, they reached a tall three-story brick building. It didn't scream restaurant but that was kind of the point. If anything it was pretty inconspicuous. With only a few windows that were tinted and no obvious markers on it or even subtle markers. It just blended. As they walked up to it the gourmet pulled a mask out of his bag. It was an interesting three-quarter mask shaped in a crescent that covered the top and left parts of his face. It only had one eyehole on the right side and where his left eye would be are angular lips with teeth lined in red. Above his right eye is a circle with a line through it.

Kaneki turned to Tsukiyama and said nervously. "I'm not dressed properly."

"Don't worry! I'll ask them to arrange something for you." The gourmet assured before walking up to the entrance which was on a patio with a roman style covering including the Corinthian columns to support it. He approached a man wearing a suit and a mask modeled after the drama masks, greeting. "Good evening."

The man returned the greeting. "We've been expecting you."

The blue haired ghoul then whispered in his ear. "I've brought my offering. Could you have him prepared?"

"Certainly, sir." The servant replied then addressed the half-breed, gesturing to an entrance off to the side. "Please follow me, sir."

"I'll see you in a bit, Kaneki." The eccentric ghoul waved as he went through the main entrance.

Having not heard what was whispered between the mask wearing ghouls, the college student just responded. "Okay." _So this is the ghoul restaurant._

Kaneki followed the man through the side door into a brick hall lit by lamps. After a short walk, they came across a fancifully carved door. It was opened for him and he stepped into a room that could that only belong in a place like the Marriott hotel. It could easily fit five of his apartments. The floor was made of white octagon tiles with black square tiles filling the spaces in between. Pillars finely carved with designs were evenly spaced along the walls. Off to one side was a large stand in showers as big as his bedroom, surrounded by frosted glass. On the other side was a closet that had doors similar to the entrance to the room.

As Kaneki stepped into the marvelous room, the servant held a hand towards the showers and said respectfully. "It appears you are sweating a bit. So please use this shower room."

"Okay," the half-breed said shyly as he opened the glass door and stepped in. _Do I smell of sweat from playing squash? In any case, I've never taken a shower at a restaurant before._

He took off his clothes before he realized that he had no place to put them. Then he noticed in the glass wall there was a drawer with a water seal. He put them in it and pushed it outside the shower. He was actually kind of amazed at that ingenuity. He started the shower and used the array of soaps to clean himself off.

As he was rinsing the servant came by and said. "I have set a fresh pair of clothes in the drawer. Please, when you finish, put them on."

"Okay."

He knew that was the third time he had said that but it was all he could say to the sophistication of the place. He finished cleaning and turned off the water. He pulled back the drawer and a white fluffy towel was in it above the clothes. He dried himself off with it. He then set the towel on the floor so that the clothes wouldn't get wet as he put them on. The clothes were a white, long sleeved, dress shirt and a pair of black slacks. It was kind of shocking that they knew his size but he had heard of some tailors who could guess a person's size at first glance. Maybe the servant was like that. He picked up the towel and stepped out of the shower.

The servant was waiting with his back respectfully facing the shower. When he heard the click, he turned and faced Kaneki. "You can just leave that in the drawer."

The half-breed did that then he followed the servant to the closet which was opened to reveal rows of suit jackets. The student was stunned as the man brought down a jacket off a hanger and held it out to him. "This should fit you nicely, sir."

"T-thank you…" Stammered the awestruck ghoul as he was helped with putting on the jacket. _Wow. They even have suits available._

"Please wait in the other room." The servant said gesturing to another door on the other side of the room. "We will look after your personal belongings."

 _The Ghoul Restaurant. You're allowed in if you have an invitation from a member and there's a dress code. If those are the conditions, it might not be too hard to get in. Itori could've found this out herself if she wanted to._ He walked through the indicated door and into a small waiting room with a few chairs situated around a coffee table. To his surprise, the room was occupied by two people.

One was a lithe middle-aged man with a goatee in a suit like Kaneki. He waved. "Hi."

"Hi." Kaneki waved back unsurely.

The man walked to the ghoul and said boisterously. "It was just the two of us so we were getting a bit lonely." He gestured to the other person sitting in one of the chairs, who was an obese woman wearing a simple white dress.

 _Wait, a human_. The half-breed realized as the man approached him. He pulled out a business and handed it to the new arrival. "I'm the editor of Shoeisha's Tokyo Gourmet magazine. My name is Kobachi. Are you a high school student?"

"No, a college student." The dark haired ghoul answered taking pleasure in the idle conversation.

"Either way. I'm surprised a student knows of this place. She seems pretty young too." Kobachi looked back to the obese woman but she just ignored them. "An aficionado friend of mine brought me here. That's how I found out there was even a restaurant here."

"Oh, me too." The teenage ghoul affirmed.

"I know quite a few restaurants in Tokyo, but I had no idea about this place." The editor gave a suffering sigh. "But I wish Mr. Mitarai told me I'd have to wait this long. I wanted to stop by another place tonight."

That struck Kaneki as odd so he asked. "Did you come in separately from your friend?"

"Uh, yeah. They told me I had to wear a suit and I was brought here. They also had me take a shower. Never did that in a restaurant before." He finished thoughtfully.

 _The same as me. This is a ghoul restaurant but their both human._

Then the door opened and a waitress wearing a drama mask like the servant from before. She was pushing a cart with a coffee carafe, three cups and a plate of cookies on it. "Some coffee before the meal. Please have some while you wait." She pushed the cart next to the table and set the cups on the table pouring fresh coffee into each one. She left the cookies on the table and left.

Kobachi sampled the cookies first. "They're kind of dry and bland. Maybe that's how the socialites like it." As a solution to the flavor to the cookies, he started dunking them in the coffee and eating them. Much better results were obtained.

The obese woman took a sip of her coffee. Kaneki brought it to his mouth but then he caught a whiff of something. There was something off about the coffee. Maybe stake water? He set down the coffee. Several minutes had passed and after everyone had finished their drinks and snacks sans the half-blood. The servant came by and ushered them into a corridor. The windows were boarded up and it went straight to another room. This one was simple. Five meters tall, with Steel panel floor walls and ceilings, dim lights, and in the center was a table with three chairs and by the table was a large griddle, large enough to fit a person.

 _Just a table and griddle?_

Kobachi walked forward boldly putting a hand on his chin in thought. "I like it, I like it. It's curiously elegant."

"Please wait here." Said the servant before he left shutting the door behind him.

"We have to wait again? I starving." The editor groaned exasperatedly as he took a seat at the table.

"I guess we're the only ones here," Kaneki noted before seeing that the woman was still at the door. He walked back her direction, which was when he noticed the door was like a bulkhead hatch on a ship and asked. "Is everything all right?"

"It's locked." She grumbled. "What is this? How are we supposed to get out?"

"Locked?" he repeated. _Come to think of it. The corridor we came through didn't branch off anywhere and it had no windows and this hatch. Is it to keep us from leaving the mansion._

"I wonder what they're gonna serve. Steak? Seafood? I can't wait!" The gourmet editor exclaimed.

That put the ghoul at ease. _Mr. Kobachi's kinda like Hide. I'm thinking too much._

A speaker than scratched to life and an energetic voice echoed out of it. "Thank you for waiting. We are now ready to start the banquet."

"Finally!" Kobachi threw his hands up in cheer.

Then a loud cranking noise erupted as the ceiling split down the middle and was pulled into the walls. Revealing a raised tier surrounding the room the unsuspecting victims stood in. Ghouls stood on this tier and around tables situated on it. They all were wearing various fanciful clothing that belonged in a ball at Buckingham Palace. Their masks were of equally as varying eccentrics and could make them blend in at a masquerade ball.

"These three will be your dinner this evening!" The announcer declared on the P.A. system.

Kaneki's only thought was. _It's a trap._

"The gentleman on the left is the editor of a gourmet magazine." The announcer introduced.

"Huh? Me?"

"He never fails to go to the gym even with his busy schedule. His healthy and fit body should have a robust texture." The announcer described the editor's health life.

"What the…" Kobachi mumbled.

The announced continued, "He never would have dreamed he would be a dish in tonight's banquet. He is Mr. TR's offering."

The mentioned ghoul stepped forward to the railing at the edge of the tier and bowed earning a roar of applause.

"And to his right." Drawled the announcer. "In contrast, she's a stout, well-fed female. She refused to take a shower so there will be some oil and fat on the surface of her flesh. But do not worry, we will wash her down and remove it all. She is Mr. PG's offering."

Mr. PG stepped up to the railing and raised his hands to the audience beckoning for more applause. He was wearing a white suit with a pink and white undershirt and his clown-like mask, "Thank you. Thank you."

The obese woman recognized the voice and shouted up at him angrily. "Souta!"

"Yes, Ami?" Souta answered pleasantly as though answering to a wife.

"You tricked me! All this time!" Ami screamed and howled, starting to sweat profusely. "What about our engagement?! I though tonight's dinner was gonna be…"

"Whoa, look at all the juices coming out." He mumbled to himself, picking at his ringing ear as she kept ranting. When she finished he just countered with a casual shrug. "I'm sorry, but I can't consider a pig as a love interest. I like pretty girls."

This only enraged her more and she pointed at him accusingly. "I… I always knew there was weird about you! You never ate anything and nothing you said ever made any sense!"

The clown-like ghoul ignored and said to the audience. "She may be oinking right now, but I've been feeding her and getting her fat just for tonight. I'm certain you'll all enjoy her marbled meat." He took a bow and stepped back, she continued ranting till she gave into despair and broke down.

Kaneki watched her with concern. _This is insane._

"And tonight's main dish is a rather unique dish meat." The announcer paused for dramatic effect, "A ghoul, ladies, and gentleman!"

A wave of murmurs flowed through the audience, all stating their uncertainty at eating ghoul flesh. The humans looked at their fellow victim with suspicion.

The announcer rolled with it. "He is Mr. MM's offering!"

On another raised tier above the other ghouls, Tsukiyama stood in the VIP section, wearing his mask and an entirely white suit. With a raise of his hand he silenced the murmurs, then he announced with a flourishing wave of his arm. "Ladies and gentlemen. I understand your bewilderment. Rough tasting ghoul meat is not worth eating. I'm sure your sophisticated palates know that already."

Another short wave of murmurs went through the audience before the Gourmet continued. "What I noticed was his aroma. So I present to you this." He reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a plastic bag containing the bloodied handkerchief from the café. Then with a smirk. He opened the bag and Kaneki's scent wafted out. A whole new wave of murmurs started then it turned into a cry of approval and desire.

Once, they quieted down, the blue haired ghoul continued, "Yes! Although he is a ghoul, he exudes a very potent human scent. Does that not intrigue you?! What does a ghoul that smells like a human taste like? A new stimulation for your taste and smell! This is truly an uncharted flavor! I made sure to sweat him out with exercise. I am certain that his softened meat will provide us with a rich aromatic flavor. So…LET US ENJOY THE ULTIMATE FEAST!" he declared before bowing and the audience roared with applause.

Kaneki dropped to his knees as he fully realized what had happened. _The gourmet Tsukiyama. Coming up to talk to me at school. Taking me to the café. It was all a trap and I completely fell for it. I'm so stupid. I didn't learn anything from what happened with Rize._

"Well, let's get the dinner show started." The announcer said. "Please welcome tonight's scrapper."

 _In Kenji Miyazawa's_ Restaurant of Many orders, _the two gentlemen…_

Part of the wall opened up like the gate in Roman Coliseum and a hulking man stomped in. He took the term 'built like a tank' literally.

… _just barely avoided going through the last door._

He stood eight-plus feet tall and was as wide as an ancient tree. Able to fit several Kanekis in his gut alone. His arms were ripped enough to make Schwarzenegger jealous and were twice as thick as Kaneki's head.

 _But there was not turning back for us…_

He had on black pants that were held up by suspenders and a red executioner's mask. In his right hand, he held a hack saw.

"Enjoy the scrapper dismemberment show!" The announcer declared.

"I-is ni to mee you." The scrapper spoke childishly despite his basso voice. "I will twy me bes."

 _We had stepped through the door._

The moment of tense silence that followed was then broken by Kobachi's ecstatic laughter. "What an exciting restaurant! I heard a place like this when I was in France! It's nice to be surprised!" He spun around looking at the entire arena accidentally bring him closer to the scrapper. He thought the whole thing was a joke. "I'm surprised it's on this large of a scale but I'm sure the audience is in on it too."

The scrapper grabbed the editor by his arm and leg and hefted him up. Kaneki cried out. "Kobachi!"

"Whoa, this is intense!" The clueless human yelled.

The scrapper the slammed him onto the ground. He pinned his first victim to the ground by stepping on his arm. Then grabbed the other arm and using the hack saw he started to cut off the arm. That's when Kobachi caught on and started screaming horrifically. All the while the scrapper sang to the tune of "Twinkle twinkle little star".

" _Saw, saw_

 _Saw, saw_

 _Hacksaw song,"_

Once the arm was off, the scrapper tossed it to the audience who swarmed it. "Fwesh off da bone."

Kobachi was still screaming when the scrapper decided to speed things up for the appetizer. He tore him apart with his bare hands. Limb by limb. Either shock or blood loss killed the editor. A drama mask wearing servant came out with a cart and calmly put the body parts in it and left.

"We are already done dismembering the first one. Once our collection staff is done it'll be served as hors d'oeuvre." The announcer notified the audience.

As the scrapper turned his attention to his soon to be victims, Kaneki yelled to his fellow offering. "A-ami! Stay near me! I'll get us out of this!"

Ami did as he said while the scrapper sauntered over to them singing the hacksaw song. The half-breed ordered shakily, fear pounding through him. "S-stay behind me." _I'll observe him first, I'm outsized but if I catch him off guard…_

Surprise shot through him as he found himself kicked in the back and towards the scrapper. He landed and looked behind him to see that it was Ami who did it.

"If you wanna save me, be my decoy and die first." She said with a manic and fearful smile.

"Ooh, that's it, Ami." PG approved from his place in the stands as the other ghouls laughed.

Kaneki was so into disbelief that he barely noticed the scrapper coming up behind arms raised. He dodged out of the way just as they came down and smashed into the ground. Then the behemoth stopped and looked back and forth between the two offerings confused. One could see the gears trying to turn in his head. He had been told to kill them in the order they were introduced. So the old guy with the beard, then chubby girl, then the small guy. He killed the old guy. So, that meant…

"TIS ONE!" The scrapper shouted triumphantly as he charged Ami.

She was shocked first then pissed. "No, you're not!" She yelled defiantly, charging then sliding into a baseball slide going right under him. Thankfully he was large enough for that to happen.

Then she hauled ass away with a speed that defied her appearance and the scrapper followed arms held out in front of him like a child chasing a puppy. "Shtop!"

"She can run!" Exclaimed one of the gourmet ghouls in honest surprise.

"Come to think of it…" Souta mumbled to himself vaguely remembering something.

Ami filled in as she ran for all she was worth, gasping for air. "I… was on the track team… I went… all the way to Nationals!"

"Run, Taro, run!" Shouted a female ghoul from the stands, who was wearing a body fitting red dress with a black fur collar.

"The scrapper's owner, Madam A, is cheering." The announcer declared.

The audience started cheering on Taro as the chase continued. Kaneki got to his feet and moved to intercept the scrapper from catching up to Ami. An event that seemed quite distant. She had even breaths and was distant from exhaustion. Then her legs got weak and they stumbled. She fell onto to her plump stomach, her limbs too weak to do anything.

"It seems that the poison is taking effect." The announcer pointed out.

 _Poison?_ Kaneki kept moving as he thought about what the announcer meant. Then he remembered the coffee. _I thought it smelled a bit weird. Is that when they did it?_

The announcer assured the audience. "Not to worry, we will be cleaning her insides later."

"Cater cater piwar piwar caterpiwar." Sang Taro as he thudded over to Ami who hopelessly tried to crawl away.

He grabbed her by the legs and dragged her over to the griddle. Then he hefted her up like he did with Kobachi. She pleaded for her life before she was slammed onto the griddle face. There was a horrible groaning noise as she tried screaming in pain but was muffled as she was held against the griddle.

"Whole roast!" Taro exclaimed happily, meanwhile, the ghouls were revolted at the thought that she wasn't cleaned before she was cooked.

Kaneki felt bile rise up as he saw Ami die a violent death. Taro left her there and turned to the half-breed. As the scrapper stalked over to him, the half-breed understood the mess he was in. Even if he was able to miraculously defeat the towering behemoth he would have to get past the near hundred ghouls who wanted a piece of him. Literally. However…

Taro swung at him with that band saw and Kaneki slid underneath it.

 _That doesn't mean I shouldn't try._

Kaneki threw off the movement restraining jacket and came at Taro. He swung a wide kick at the side of the scrapper who stood unfazed by the blow. "Dat stung," Taro said irritatedly.

 _Dammit. Can't hurt him through all the fat._ The half-breed leapt back for distance to defend himself.

"You can do it, Taro!" Madam A cheered at the top of her lungs. "Do it right and there'll be a treat waiting for you back home! C'mon, now! Tootsie, tootsie!"

"M…m…MAMA!" Taro yelled bull rushing his last victim.

The scrapper then body slammed the college student to the ground landing dead on top of him. Then he grabbed his victim with one hand wrapping around his back

"Goo boy. Goo boy." The scrapper soothed as he raised the band saw then started saw at the dark haired ghoul's shoulder. "Saw saw."

"STOP!" He cried, terrifyingly.

The scrapper actually stopped. He had noticed that he wasn't actually getting anywhere. The shirt was torn but the flesh was relatively unmarred. Just some red irritation from the saw rubbing against Kaneki's skin. Taro was really confused as he held up the saw and noticed the blade had been absolutely wrecked. The serration was all but gone and the band was bent to all hell. Taking the chance given by the mammoth of a man's bewilderment, the half-breed kicked his legs with everything he had at his capturer's shoulder.

"Owch!" Taro exclaimed as it actually stung and he let go of his prey instinctively.

The audience started mumbling. "A saw's not going to work on a ghoul."

"Maybe Taro's not up to the task. It has to be a ghoul against another ghoul."

"How would we cook him then?"

Tsukiyama hummed with thought as he listened to his guests. In his excitement to taste Kaneki, he had forgotten that he was a ghoul and that normal weapons did not work. Even though he had agonized for hours on how he was going to get the blood sample from him. Then going to the trouble of making the book look like it fell naturally and timing the placement of the swipe of his nail perfectly to make it look like a papercut. Good thing he is a man of many precautions.

He watched Kaneki distance himself from Taro then he turned to a servant. "Bring him the case."

"Yes, sir." The servant answered and left.

Several minutes later, the same servant came out onto the arena floor through the large gate Taro did, carrying an attaché case in his arms. The audience murmured among themselves with curiosity and unsureness. Taro took the case and held it in his hands menacingly. Kaneki readied himself for whatever it was, unable to stop the nagging familiarity in the back of his mind. The scrapper kept holding it, and holding it, and holding it. Then he plopped onto his behind with an earth-shaking thump and held the case up confused. There was a collective groan from the audience.

The servant who was nearly to the entrance sighed exasperatedly, tired of dealing with Madam A's stupid scrappers, turned and walked over to Taro again and started instructing him on how to open the thing. Once the scrapper figured it out, the servant got out of the arena wanting to be nowhere near the scrapper once he unleashed that thing.

Taro got the case open and stood with his new weapon: a Quinque. It was a huge band saw about the size of a claymore sword. Its blade was black with red veins and inch long teeth on the serration. The entire audience flipped.

PG, who had joined Tsukiyama during the debacle of getting the case open, stated. "A dove's weapon. How distasteful of you Mr. MM. So scary. I must say you came prepared though."

The Gourmet crossed his arms smugly. "Just one of my souvenirs. It's the most simplest one I have."

"A 'souvenir'?" Questioned Souta.

"But boy…" The blue haired ghoul muttered to himself as he watched Kaneki. "He sure is living up to his reputation." _I see how he went up against am investigator from the main office._

Taro swung wide at Kaneki with the Quinque Band Saw which was avoided by being jumped over. The half-breed landed in a crouch. He actually felt kind of badass. Of course, his opponent made it easy. The scrapper was a literal case of all muscle and no brain. He couldn't even figure out how to open the Quinque when it was one button. Compared to Amon he had no rhyme or reason to his attacks. He just threw his strikes widely and hoped to hit the target. The college believed it was called 'Spraying and praying.' If he could figure out how to do damage to the scrapper he'd be golden. He looked to the audience of ghouls waiting to see his blood spilled. _But more importantly, I need to find a way out of here._

"Impressive, Kaneki," Tsukiyama commented. "But why aren't you using your Kagune?"

"Kill him already! We're starving up here!" Shouted an impatient ghoul slamming his fist against the railing, showing the shared feelings of the mob.

 _I have to incapacitate him first!_ Kaneki ignored the audience and focused on the task at hand. He would much rather have discussed using these with Marcus and Touka. That way he could learn to have a better handle on it before he used for real. However, desperate times means desperate measures. Taro brought his Quinque above his head and aimed to split the half-breed in two from top to bottom. However, the lethal strike was sidestepped by the college student to the inside of the scrapper's guard. The inhumane weapon embedded itself into the concrete to the point where even the behemoth would have issues removing it. He recalled all the knowledge he learned from his martial arts books and put it to use.

 _Effective against larger opponents…_

He reached out to Taro's hand and pulled it from the Quinque.

 _Flip his wrist… turn his arm upwards…_

He had to use the entirety of his arms to do it but he rotated the towering scrapper's hand to where the palm was facing upwards.

 _And lift his elbow joint straight up._

Heaving with his entire body, he tried to do that but it wasn't working. Taro lifted his arm ready to bounce the rookie ghoul off ground. The teenager gritted his teeth.

 _I'm sorry._

Kaneki swung his legs and slammed his knee into Taro's elbow joint while pulling down with his body. The scrapper's elbow broke like a twig to the point where the arm distended as the bone pressed against the skin. The mammoth of a man howled in pain, stumbling backward while his assailant dropped from his arm and to the ground. Madam A cried out in worry for her favorite scrapper, who cried and moaned about his arm shuffle towards his Mama.

"Oh ho," PG chuckled surprised, "Has the tide turned?"

Tsukiyama ignored the clownish ghoul and kept his focus on Kaneki. He analyzed the move in his mind replaying it over and over. It was strange. It seemed like he was feeling his way through. Going through each step as carefully and quickly as he could. Making sure it was right. As if it was his first attempt. A memory flashed of the book Kaneki was reading at the college. _Don't tell me you… you are, aren't you!_

"Extracting what you learn in books at maximum speed! That's what you do! Isn't it?! That's who you are!" Tsukiyama shouted triumphantly, pointing at the half-breed. A sly smirk crawled across his face. "But unfortunately, I'm a step ahead of you. The moment you stepped foot inside this masquerade your future was in my hands. A SHOW ALWAYS HAS AN FINALE!"

After having encouragement from his Mama, Taro was back in the game and chasing after Kaneki. He had already retrieved his Quinque with the help of a servant who got batted aside in rage. The half-breed was doing good keeping his distance waiting for a chance to strike again. Then his body felt very weak and his limbs had issues moving and he stumbled. The scrapper caught up quickly in that time and he swung the souped up band saw in an executioner's swing. Fortunately for the weakened ghoul, the weapon was wielded by the scrappers off-hand and he only managed a grazing blow to the side of the student. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground clutching at the wound.

The audience rolled with confusion so the Announcer said, "We had been advised by Mr. MM to take all the necessary precautions. We have taken special measures with his offering tonight. The effects are delayed but those who did not drink the coffee have inhaled a gaseous form of Iocane powder. Colorless, tasteless, and without scent, to humans it is a lethal poison but in ghouls, it slowly inhibits motor skills. He will soon be unable to resist. Please enjoy the climax of the show."

 _The hallway, that's what it was for._ Kaneki realized.

Taro sauntered up and placed the saw on the half-breed's stomach and started pulling back the blade. The victimized ghoul started screaming as the serration started biting into his skin. He wasn't going to die. Not here. Not like this. Of all the places and ways he could die, it wasn't going to be like this. He wasn't going to become an eccentric meal for a bunch of over glorified foodies. He wasn't going to die because of his own stupidity and inability to learn from past mistakes. If he was going to die he was going to die on his terms.

The roaring cheer of the audience silenced as Kaneki grabbed the Quinque with one hand and stopped it's movement whole, no matter how much Taro tugged. The half-breed then looked at the scrapper with a bestial determination, his signature sole Kakugan flaring. He yanked the weapon out of the butcher's hands and tossed it across the arena. He got himself to his feet as his opponent swung a fist. He grabbed that fist and threw the hulking human more than half a dozen meters. The audience then panicked realizing that he was a one-eyed ghoul.

"A one-eyed ghoul? You serious? I didn't think they existed." PG mumbled honestly shocked.

Tsukiyama had chills running through him.

The ghoul instinct enhanced adrenaline rush that hit Kaneki started fading and he fell on his bottom. He used whatever he had left on that final move. He was going numb but he didn't stop trying to live.

"Please move." He begged his legs as if that would help.

Taro stood again looking worse for wear but he was still ready to chop up some victims. The audience started screaming and howling, demanding him to finish the job while he had a chance. Madam A's voice rang out above the rest. "Rip him apart! Excite your Mama, Taro!"

 _A one-eyed…_ Tsukiyama thought as he held his arms in hopes of stopping the shivers.

Taro shuffled his way back to Kaneki who started panicking.

 _A rarity…a delicacy._

All the ghouls watched the scrapper with growing expectation. Disgust ran through the gourmet and he moved. Taro stood over Kaneki and raised his arms, ready to pound him into the ground. Tsukiyama plunged his hand into the scrapper's back all the way up to the elbow, silencing the audience. The childish behemoth looked back at him with confusion.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm sorry for interrupting. I had no idea he was a one-eyed ghoul. However, I do not intend to ruin tonight's banquet." The Blue haired ghoul said respectfully as he plunged his other hand into Taro. "So I'd like to make a proposal."

Then with a swift movement split the scrapper open from the chest down, dashed through him and stood in front of Kaneki arms spread like a dancer. Blood splashed everywhere and the gourmet acted as a shield to block the blood from reaching the half-breed. As the blood turned his suit red it was revealed that there was a diamond pattern in his suit that could only be seen if the suit was stained in such a manner. A terrifying thought for the teen.

"How about we enjoy Madam A's human pet, the scrapper," Tsukiyama suggested as he licked at some blood at the corner of his lips. It didn't taste too bad.

There was a moment of tense silence before Madam A cried out as he scrapper fell to the ground. "TAROOO!"

The audience started to like the idea Mr. MM put forward except for Madam A who growled. "MM! What have you done to my Taro?!"

"Oh, Madame. Please forgive me." The gourmet turned to the distraught woman. "But perhaps you have become a bit bored of Taro, have you not? I will secure a human pet more fitting for you. A handsome young European man in his late teens to his early twenties. Am I right?"

"Ma…ma…" Taro groaned weakly.

The blue haired continued his pitch. "How does that sound? Not one, but two or three. Give me a month and I will find you a replacement."

"A replacement?" She muttered to herself and after a moment's thought she slammed her hands down on the railing and shouted. "Fine then! Eating Taro might be interesting."

"Ma…ma…" Taro spent his last moments crying as he was taken by the collection crew.

Tsukiyama turned back to Kaneki, who just looked at everything in horror and shock, and walked over to him before crouching beside the terrified ghoul. He said privately to the half-breed. "Let's get out of here. It was meant to be a little joke. I know it was a bit rough. Would you mind forgetting this ever happened." _Something this rare. Nobody can have him but me._

* * *

Voices echo. Some are of those who want to devour him. Some were of those who were devoured. A sensation of drowning in blood and being held down by the hands from both sets of voices. A sharp repeating pain on his forehead.

Kaneki woke from his fitful sleep to a parakeet pecking at his forehead. It has been a few days since the literal nightmarish events at the Ghoul Restaurant. He hasn't gotten any decent sleep because he couldn't forget what happened. It had left an imprint in his mind. He also hasn't gone home in that time either. He felt safer sleeping in Anteiku's guest room above the shop.

"Hetare!" Chirped the bird.

He sat up, the bird hopping and flapping his wings so that he could stay atop the half-breed's head. "Hetare?" The ghoul mumbled tiredly.

"Hey! You shouldn't be flying yet!" Shouted a concerned Hinami as she stepped into the room carrying a bird cage. She was wearing a long, dark pinstripe shirt with dark pants, a straw hat over a wig that matched her hair. She also had circular sunglasses and a cloth medical mask.

"Hinami?" The tried ghoul asked as his brain refused to boot up the rest of the way.

"It's me." She assured, taking off the adornments on her head and placing them on top of the cage. The young ghoul looked much like her old self again, the student had to strain to see the dark circles. She explained as she stepped over to the teenage ghoul and opened the cage. "I borrowed a few things from Touka."

The parakeet hopped off of Kaneki's head onto his shoulder then into the cage as the ghoul said. "Oh. But, what's with the bird?"

"He was hurt when I found him," Yoshimura replied as he stepped into the room followed Yomo surprising the teenager. "We've decided to keep him until we can find his owner. We'll take turns looking after him, all right?"

"Okay!" Hinami smiled in return to the manager's smile, setting the cage on a table by the couch. "You think that he can say anything else?"

"He might if we teach him," Yomo noted.

"What should we call him?" She wondered. " 'Hetare'?"

"Maybe you should put some more thought into it." Commented the old ghoul with a kind smile.

"What should it be? I've never named anything before. What about that star on his wing?"

Kaneki just watched her in silence with a grateful smile, glad that she was back to her old self. Yoshimura looked at him and noticed his attire of sleep clothes and asked. "Kaneki. Did you spend the night here?"

The dark haired ghoul rubbed the back of his head shyly. "S-sorry. I should've asked you first. I just couldn't sleep at my place." An image of a blood-soaked Tsukiyama haunted his mind.

"Good to have you back," Yomo said, surprising the teenage ghoul with his concern even if it was in a monotone voice. "But I told you, you didn't have to go. Don't take everything Itori says at face value. I also once…"

"I do hear things about that restaurant." The manager cut in, stopping any memories from being dredged up. "However, neither I nor Yomo knows much about it. Only those who have fallen to the deep, dark side of ghouls know. It was a tall order what Itori asked of you. Although I am surprised by your initiative."

The stoic ghoul asked, mildly curious. "How'd you make it back on your own?"

When the half-breed didn't answer, the older ghoul asked. "Are you all right?"

After a moment of distressed thought, the teen ghoul answered slowly. "I saw… a lot of ghouls. All of them watched me and the other guests be mutilated and bled. They were laughing behind their masks."

A moment of understanding came from the older and experienced ghouls before the oldest stated. "Generally speaking ghouls have a tendency to value life flippantly. When you look at a piece of cooked meat or fish. Do you pity them?"

"Not really." The student answered honestly.

"As long as you don't see them alive it's difficult to understand the guilt of consuming them." The wise ghoul said sagely as a certain someone came to mind. "However, many ghouls lay their hands on people and each time they do, they must come to terms with taking a life. Ghouls weren't designed to have hearts strong enough to be able to walk on corpses without any guilt. That's why stifling one's emotions is a way of coping. Ghouls who have lived that way have a disregard for the value of life. Kaneki. The ghouls you've known. Have they all been like that?"

Kaneki looked down at the bird and thought about it. They really hadn't all been like the way Yoshimura described. They were a variety. Some were that way like Tsukiyama, and some were not, Ryouko. There were those who were at that border but never crossed like most of the employees at Anteiku including himself. Then there were those who had crossed all the way to the bad side but came back with the help of others, Marcus. All this was just like with humans. There was the good, the bad and the worse. The line between humans and ghouls just got even blurrier. _Is there even really a line anymore?_

"You don't have to answer. Just make sure to keep it in mind when dealing with ghouls." Yoshimura advised. "If you don't mind Yomo and I have some errands to run."

"Bye!" Hinami waved happily as they left, Kaneki gave a small wave himself.

Yomo and Yoshimura picked up their jackets and left. After a few blocks, the manager asked. "Do you think it's all right for Ken to fight Tsukiyama? You have a grasp of both their capabilities, don't you?"

"Tsukiyama won't be easy." The hidden employee of Anteiku answered honestly. "He's still snooping around outside the café. Maybe I should…"

The old ghoul shook his head. "Being overprotective won't help him. I have faith. Let's just do what we have to."

A little past afternoon, back at the shop Kaneki was still in the guest room, watching Hinami play with the bird through the cage when Touka poked her head around the edge of the doorframe. She had heard the parakeet chirping to the young girl's teasing. She had hoped it wasn't a bird but to her dislike it was.

She pursed her lips and said sourly. "A bird."

The room's occupants looked up at the new arrival. Hinami gave her a wave and explained to Kaneki who was confused about the tough girl's unusual shyness. "Touka doesn't like birds. That's why I brought him here."

"I don't hate birds." The violet haired ghoul insisted as she stepped in with a haughty air about her. She leaned over and poked at the cage asking. "We seriously keeping him here?"

The bird wigged out and started flapping its wings frantically, shaking the cage. The tough, mighty and unshakable Touka leapt back with a terrified yelp. The bird's current owner suggested. "I think it's nervous. It's probably a good idea not to stick your hand in there."

"You're probably right." The high school said a little shaky. Remembering why she came up here she said to the half-breed. "Oh, by the way, you've got a visitor downstairs."

The dark haired ghoul immediately thought of Tsukiyama, cautiously asking. "Who is it?"

She just shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno. It's a girl."

"Huh?" He stood and straightened his blue and green striped shirt and jeans. Slipping on his shoes he stated to Hinami. "I'll be back, kay?"

"Kay." The brown haired girl answered.

Kaneki walked out of the room towards the main café area. A moment of silence passed between the girls. Then Hinami got curious about how things were between Touka and Marcus

"So," The younger ghoul drawled, rocking on her feet trying to be casual and innocent.

"Yeah?" The abrasive one of the two replied cautiously.

"Has Marcus come over to you and talked about anything recently?" The curious girl asked.

The violet haired teen tensed at the question. It was completely innocent since the girl hadn't been told of what happened. She was young for that and she didn't need to be concerned. _I don't even know what's going on anyways_

"He's… sick. He's in bed getting better." She repeated what Yoshimura had told her.

"Oh, okay." The young Fueguchi mumbled a bit downtrodden. _I hoped that they had made up already._

"Hey, I'm gonna head back down. Start getting ready to open up shop." The youngest Anteiku employee excused herself.

"Later," the green-eyed girl responded.

Kaneki got downstairs and stepped out into the business area of Anteiku. She was standing by the main entrance, wearing a white cardigan with fur lined cuffs and collar over a white polka-dot shirt and jeans.

"Kimi!" he exclaimed walking up to the kindhearted girl. "What are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

"It's Nishiki." She mumbled with a grim expression.

"What?" The half-breed asked barely having heard her. Then Touka came out of the back area into the main shop. He looked at the Anteiku loyal ghoul then ushered the human out the front door, "Wait. Let's talk outside."

He led her a few blocks away and into a side alley. "Okay. What's wrong?"

"His stomach wound isn't healing at all. Coffee's not enough anymore. I don't know what to do. I thought you might know." Concern and worry filled her face and voice as she continued. "What should I do? Is there anything else he can eat? If there isn't he'll…"

She didn't finish but she didn't need to. The ghoul understood her hesitation to say it, Nishio dying must be a terrible thought for her. "He probably needs to feed on flesh." He theorized. _Only Mr. Yoshimura has the key to the freezers and I'm not going to kill someone. No way. It'd be easy to turn my back on them but that would be wrong too._

"Maybe I can help you." He told her assuredly. "I'll ask around. _Humans who are willing to stay with ghouls despite knowing they're ghouls may become guideposts for how people and ghouls can coexist. I want to find of Kimi's feelings are real._

She held her hands over her mouth in an attempt to not burst out into joyful so but tears still welled up in her eyes. "Thank you, Kaneki. Thank you."

He replied. "Of course. But you should get going. Some of us aren't too keen on humans knowing about ghouls."

"Okay." She nodded and she bowed slightly and repeated again. "Thank you."

Then she walked away. Kaneki rubbed the back of his head wondering what he was getting into. _Though technically I'm following Anteiku's policy. Helping ghouls in need._ The college student returned to the shop thinking of a way he could get to the meat.

Kimi wiped at her tears. She was really grateful for Kaneki. He was helping out Nishiki even though he had attacked him. There aren't many kind souls like that anymore. They were just lucky enough to know one. She won't lie to herself. She had once believed the rhetoric the CCG tells the public, that Ghouls are soulless devils wearing the guise of humans. However, since she found her boyfriend was a ghoul she's been slowly introduced to their world. It felt like the wool had been pulled off her eyes. She knew the real truth. Ghouls were just like humans, they had just been given a bad lot in life. _Do ghouls have their own god watching over them or do they share ours?_

Just in case Kimi brought her hands together, closed her eyes, and offered a prayer to anyone who would listen. "Please save him."

Then a hand covered her mouth and an arm pinned hers. A silky french voice whispered in her ear. "If you're going to pray, pray for yourself."

She looked back and saw Tsukiyama as her assailant wearing his crescent moon mask. He smirked. "I need your help with something."

Kaneki laid on the couch in the bedroom reading a book Hinami had kindly left for him. Every once in a while he thought about how he was going to ask Yoshimura for the meat to give to Nishiki. He honestly had no clue whether or not the manager would give it. He is a kind person but he is also known to be cold and punishing as when Touka had attacked those investigators. Nishio had been a nuisance to Anteiku before but it was also the group's policy to help ghouls in need. So it could go either way. Not only was there that issue he also had to go and deliver the information to Itori. What little he had. However, with Tsukiyama still looking to put him on a plate, it made things difficult. _I should just lie low for now._

A thunk came from the window above his head, He slid it open and looked out in the back alley behind Anteiku. No one was there but there was something by the back door. He went downstairs and to the back door located in the kitchen. He opened the door and looked around the alley making sure that there wasn't somebody hiding or anything. Once he was sure he looked at the object on the ground. It was a folded piece of paper with a rose in the crease. _A rose and a letter. There's only one person who'd do this._

Kaneki opened the letter. It looked more like an invitation to some grand ball than a letter. It had a gold filigree border and metallic gold ink made the words. It read:

" _To Kaneki,_

 _Let's have a nice dinner tonight at 10:00 at the location below._

 _I've taken the woman you were speaking with behind Anteiku._

 _The three of us shall have a beautiful evening to together._

 _P.S._

 _Do not worry. I have not harmed her._

 _However, if you refuse to come, I cannot guarantee anything._

 _Shuu Tsukiyama"_

 _Kimi!_ Kaneki's mind flew into a panic. She must've been abducted not too long after their talk. Tsukiyama had been biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity. He remembered her grateful tears as she thanked him. _Only because she came to see me…_

Loud heavy knocks came from the shop's front door. The half-breed moved quickly, hoping to get rid of whoever was there so he could go and save Kimi. Or maybe ask for their help, depending on who it was. He opened the door to see what could only be described as a half dead Nishiki, crouching by the door fist raised to start pounding again. He was paler than death's emo sister with sunken eyes. His hair was unkempt and unwashed. He was wearing jeans and a tan, long sleeve shirt.

"Nishio!" Kaneki exclaimed in surprise. Mostly at how he got here alive

"W-where's Kimi?" The barely living ghoul groaned out. "She came here, didn't she?"

Not finding the heart in himself to lie, the man-made ghoul handed the ghoul at his feet the letter. "I found this."

The letter was taken and read. The injured reader slammed his fist into the ground letting out a shout of frustration. "Damn it. Why is this happening? Why?"

The younger student lowered himself to his haunches and said. "I'll go. It's me Tsukiyama's after."

"I can't let Kimi stay caught in the middle of it. I'm going with you." The hazelnut head stated as he hauled himself to his feet.

Alarmed the healthier one of the two exclaimed. "Do you realize the condition you're in?! That's crazy!"

"You expect me to stay in bed after reading this?" The course ghoul countered sharply. "And it's not like I can trust you completely. I have to go."

 _He's got a point I guess. I'm am part of the reason why he's like this._ The gourmet's target sigh, relenting to the demand. "Okay. Let's go."

Kaneki pulled out his phone and looked up the address that came with the letter. Then the two of them followed the directions given by the digital map to an old church in the twenty-first ward. Kaneki didn't know much about it but he did vaguely recall a scandal about a ghoul running an orphanage out of it and eating some of the kids. As they walked, shuffled in Nishiki's case, up to the large, wooden, double doors, they heard organ music coming out of it.

"Moonlight Sonata, really? Stuck up bastard." Nishiki wheezed. The long walk had taken it out of him.

Kaneki opened the door with a creak and they stepped in. It was a simple church, two stories high and long enough only for two rows of ten pews inside. There was a raised tier around the sides and front of the main congregation room. That floor had its own pews At the back was single stained glass window and below was a long altar. Long enough that it had been worthy to have Kimi laid on to it. Her cardigan was missing and she had a blindfold plus her hands were bound. Off to one side was the small organ from where the music was coming from and Tsukiyama sat at it, playing the Moonlight Sonata. He had on a purple suit with red, vertical pinstripes. With a red dress shirt underneath it and a violet tie with a diamond design in it.

"Do you like Beethoven? When I feel his music I picture the almost transparent darkness of Europe." Tsukiyama said casually as though he was not holding an innocent woman hostage. His voice carried smoothly from the acoustics. He looked to the towards the arrivals with cavalier eyes. He stood playing the last few notes to the song. "It's been a while, Kaneki. I've been waiting for you. I've been busy preparing for this since that night. I finally found the perfect location and the best arrangement."

"W-where's Kimi?!" Kaneki questioned.

"Tsukiyama!" Nishio stepped forward as his rage filled shout echoed off the walls. "You better not have laid a finger on her!"

"Well, if it isn't Nishio Nishiki. I don't recall inviting you." The gourmet regarded him as one would a bug. He walked slowly towards the altar. "I haven't heard much about you recently I was wondering what you've been up to. What happened? You're so skinny."

The angered ghoul ignored the idle chatter and demanded. "Give her back, you pretentious bastard!"

"Give her back? Oh, I see" The hostage holder nodded standing by the altar. "You were going to eat her."

"Never!" The hazelnut head denied swiping his hand. "I would never do that to her!"

 _"Sorry about that, Kaneki. Looks like I got your snack a little dirty. This guy has been your friend for a long time, right? Just when in the hell were you planning to eat him? Were you waiting for a good situation where you could attack him? The place is pretty important, too. Come on! Tell me!"_

Kaneki replayed in his mind. _He's changed._

"Oh?" The psychopathic ghoul tilted his head honestly surprised. Then he shrugged and placed a foot on the altar possessively. "Well, in either case. I'm sorry, but this young lady is the spice for this evening's feast."

"What?!"

"Although I haven't prepared her yet. I wanted to serve her to Kaneki as fresh as possible. To be precise…" The depth of his madness was finally revealed as he exclaimed with a hysterical smile. "I WANT TO FEED ON KANEKI AS HE FEEDS ON HER!"

The Gourmet's target of affection recoiled in revulsion while the angered lover became even more enraged. "You bastard. You. Sick. FUCK!"

That line seemed to have irritated the seriously disturbed kidnapper and he responded coldly. "Sick? Me? I don't appreciate that. I consider myself a seeker of the truth. But if you do feel that way…"

The distance between the opposing sides closed suddenly by the antagonist as he sped across the room and got into his desire's face. He pointed at him accusingly while grabbing onto Nishio. "It's you that makes me like this. So you need to take responsibility."

"What?"

"Kaneki. You need to realize how delectable you are!" The crazed foodie yelled as he pulled the wounded ghoul close then slugged him. Sending him flying into one of the pews shattering it on half. Then he gave a two-fingered salute. "Sleep tight."

The dark haired ghoul's eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed. "Nishi…" His combatant cut him off with another punch that had to be deflected with an elbow.

The suit wearer broke the guard then dodged a clumsily structured jab to his head. "Still a bit awkward. Like a newborn chick." He caught another thrown fist.

"This is…" He slammed his fist into his meal's face throwing him back. "…A real punch."

The younger fighter gritted his teeth and threw a kick that was blocked. Off-balance he was left open to the next attack.

"And this…" The French-accented ghoul spun into a reverse round house that plowed into his target's side. "… is a real kick."

The teen ghoul flew into the side another pew caving it in. Blood flew from his mouth.

The sophisticated madman lowered his leg then asked brashly. "Well, what sort of attack would you like me to do next? I need to loosen up."

A blue blur flashed in front of him from the above tier and a splash of blood came from his eyes.

Touka landed a few meters away from him and responded to his question mockingly. "How about a regular sneak attack?" She wore a zipped up, blue sweater with black stripes on the shoulders, zipper, and pockets. That was over a white, collared shirt and navy blue shorts that were rolled up pretty high that could be taken as enticing. Her black boots had red socks poking out the top.

"Touka?" Kaneki asked, shocked at her sudden appearance.

"Tou..ka." Nishio wheezed as he looked her way.

Tsukiyama stumbled as he covered his eyes. "Oh my. This is not good. It's been a while since I've had a flesh wound." He removed his hand to reveal a long gash that went across his face going through both eyes. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face clean of blood and when he was done the wound was gone.

 _It didn't do anything?!_ The half-breed's jaw dropped. _His healing has approaching Marcus' level if not on par._

"So many uninvited guests. Sheesh." The Gourmet shook his head with a conceding smile. "Oh, well. This is a perfect for me to work up an appetite."

The violet haired ghoul stood and stretching her arms by extending them across her chest one at a time pulling at them with her other arm. She smirked and stated. "I'll mess you up so badly you won't be able to eat. Tsukiyama."

The antagonist smirked back. "I don't see why you would want to mess me up. Miss Kirishima."

"You've been snooping around the café recently. I've been waiting to kick you ass." Placing a hand on her hip and leaning on the opposite leg, she held an air of confidence as she explained with a smirk. "Those two were up to something, so I followed them. And what d'you know? You were here. Besides. I don't care about Nishiki but if Anteiku loses a member that means more work for me."

He huffed a scornful laugh. "That's so kind. It's not very like you. Perhaps you've gotten soft. You used to be like a well-sharpened knife. If you had the skill you had then, that strike would've taken me a full ten seconds to recover from."

"It was just a greeting. Don't want it to end too quick, do you?" She shot back, hiding the fact he was right.

"Oh boy. The only thing that's changed is your mouth. Then again," He chucked off his jacket and charged bringing his leg up then down upon her like a guillotine. "That's what makes you so charming!"

The agile ghoul jumped back to avoid the blow that shattered the wooden floor then she leapt forward and brought around a kick that could take her remove her target's head but he blocked it.

"As always, nice reflexes!"

As the brawl started moving away, Kaneki stood and shambled his way to his incapacitated companion. He said worriedly. "Nishio,"

Nishio didn't respond to him and groaned quietly. "Kimi."

The half-breed grimaced as he realized he couldn't do anything and turned his attention to the battle.

Tsukiyama swung a side kick at Touka. He stated. "You were fourteen then that would've made me eighteen. Cold, piercing eyes like a piece of a crystal. I can't forget it." So busy in his reminiscing, he was unable to defend against the boot that met his face with great force. He was tossed backward and smashed several more pews.

"Shut up, you pretentious freak. You make me wanna hurl." She scowled at him.

"I was so fascinated with you back then. That's all I was trying to say." The mad ghoul explained as he sat up.

Only to have Kaneki come at him with a kick that threw him through the next pew. The half-breed determinedly stated. "I won't be eaten by you and I'm getting Kimi outa here!"

"Very nice kick, Kaneki." The apparently disadvantaged ghoul commented as he stood while his opponents attacked together. He laughed. "Oh boy."

The female ghoul threw her signature airborne roundhouse kick again, while the half-breed swung with the back of his fist. Their target blocked the kick with the full of his arm while he caught the fist. Then he kicked the tomboy in the gut and across the church.

"Look at the two of you. You move in the exact same way." The aspiring cannibal mocked before he used his hand to flip the fist till the palm was upwards. "If I remember correctly I think it was like this."

He slammed his knee into the elbow in a mimicry of the owner's move used in the Ghoul Restaurant. The dark head screamed in agony while his agonizer licked his lips. "Just a taste."

He plunged his hand into his future meal's stomach causing him to cough up blood. Then he removed his hand and licked the blood of it. He stiffened as a jolt of delight shot through him.

"TRÉS BIEN!" He howled to the sky. "What is this flavor?! It's like nothing I've tasted before! A complex harmony of flavors on my tongue!" His hands were held up and he folded them together. "Damn. It's way beyond what I expected. But, that is exactly why I want something even better! I won't settle for simple greatness! Now is the moment to serve her to you." He turned to the altar and started stalking towards Kimi.

The violet head came behind the psychopathic ghoul with another kick and a battle cry. "Tsuki…" She was interrupted when her foot was caught.

"Miss Kirishima." The unchallenged Gourmet said coldly. "Your coldness back then was extraordinary but not now. Something has lit a fire in your eyes."

Tsukiyama's kagune tore through the back of his shirt and through Touka's stomach. It came out of shoulder blade area. A long strip of Koukaku that was a violet on one side and red on the other, coiling into a drill with the violet on the outside. It deposited her on the floor before wrapping itself around its owner's arm so that the arm was in the middle of the drill.

"It saddens me." The Gourmet continued with a crazed look in his kakugans. "You didn't need it. Now die, you're disrupting my dinner."

"Touka!" The half-breed called out to the injured girl.

"Time to kick off the festivities." The eager psycho purred hungrily.

"Stop! Come here if you wanna eat me!" The targeted teen demanded

The coveter laughed at that. "I'll be there shortly. With a piece of her flesh."

"How can you take a life so easily?" The idealistic one asked appalled.

The Koukaku ghoul stopped in front of the altar and looked at his evening meal with a questioning look. "Are you going to lecture me about the value of life? Don't you think it's arrogant to decide which lives are worth more and which is less? We are all equal meat bags. The weak crawl and the strong eat them."

 _I have to save her._ The once human thought.

"If you look at all creatures, humans take more lives than any other. Unlike them we only kill humans," The crazed foodie continued, reaching for Kimi's shirt ad pulling down over her shoulder revealing creamy flesh and a bite scar at the curve of her shoulder. He looked at it with disdain. "What is this?"

Nishiki stirred, grabbing the broken pew and pulling himself into a sitting position. He slumped forward some but he was able to keep himself aloft. He leveled his weary gaze towards Kimi and the scar on her shoulder. It started to make him think. It was stupid to do that in this situation, he knew that but he couldn't help it.

" _As a kid, I was pretty dumb, but who isn't at that age?_

' _I don't want to eat a person.'_

 _I always refused to eat people. I though it was wrong. But big sis…_

' _You don't have a choice. Think of it as just meat. It's the same as humans eating cows or pigs.'_

 _She was only a few years older than me but she was way ahead of me on the survival curve. She always managed to convince me and do the killing herself. Dad died long before I could remember so she took on the parental role. However, she was also ambitious. Wanting to go to school and have friends and learn. I was content and teased her for those thoughts even though I shared them. Then she got a job._

' _We can't live like stray cats forever. I'll get a job make some money, wear nice clothes and sleep in a fluffy bed.'_

 _That was her reasoning but I was worried. 'We don't need money. Besides…'_

 _I remember the way she winked at me. So sure of herself. 'Relax. They won't find out. I'll find us a decent place to live.'_

 _She couldn't hold down a job to save the planet, but she never lost hope and kept earning money. I'll admit. Having good clothes and a pillow under my head was pretty nice. We never got that place but we were happy with our little shed. Years passed and we grew older. I always looked up to her even when she had to look up to me from my height._

 _I gave in and got a job myself, delivering newspapers. Yeah, I'm that old, shut up. I was running my route when I saw my sister with someone, a guy. She smiled at him in a way I had never seen before and it made me feel happy. She saw me after he left._

' _What're you doing here?!'_

 _She was so embarrassed, it was funny. But I didn't tease her for it. I respected her too much. 'Doing my deliveries. Does he work at the store?'_

 _She was still red but she had that smile again. 'Yeah. He's the manager of the store.'_

 _That's when I recognized that smile, couples shared it all the time. I was happy for her. All her hard work might've gotten her somewhere._

 _Told you I was stupid._

 _It was raining that day when they came for us. The doves. We barely managed to escape. But she was hurt bad._

 _I remember how the blood mixed with the water from the rain and my tears. I remember her last words, forever branded into my head._

' _N-Nishiki. There's some money in the first aid box.'_

' _I don't need it! I don't!'_

 _I couldn't believe what was happening, I didn't want her to die. But she knew the truth._

' _You have to live.'_

' _No. sis. Don't die. Don't you die!' My words meant nothing._

' _L…ive.'_

 _She died in my arms._

 _After a month, I found that guy she was into and I checked his phone. He had been the one who turned her in. He paid for that. Humans couldn't be trusted._

 _I came back to the shattered remains of our home and found the first aid kit. The money was there but so was a letter that was written by her. I know it by heart:_

' _To Nishiki,_

 _In case anything happens, there's a family register dad left for you._

 _Please use it. It's a clean and untraceable register._

 _From now on, you'll be "Nishiki Nishio."_

" _Nishi" two times in a row is a bit weird, I know._

 _Also, use the money I left behind. I worked hard there's quite a bit. Use it however you want._

 _It's okay to ask for help when you're in trouble_

 _Oh, And don't be such a smart-ass all the time, okay?_

 _See you._

 _Thanks for staying with me._

 _Your sister forever'_

 _She had actually saved a decent amount. Sure made my eyes roll over with dollar signs on 'em. I knew what I was gonna do with it, too. It was her dream. So after a hell of a lot of work, sweat, blood, tears and the biggest crash course in history, I got into Kamii university._

 _That's where I met her._

 _Kimi._

 _She had left her change in a vending machine, I had picked it up for her. I won't lie. I didn't think much of her. She was pale and dull, with sunken eyes and a thin frame but I had thought she might be useful._

 _So I asked her out._

 _During the time we dated, I watched her change. She became beautiful. I don't just mean just on the surface. She started to have a life on her own. Always positive, always determined. And that smile. It could always make me smile back_

 _One thing led to another and, what do the kids call it? Well, we ended up sharing a bed._

 _I'm not a good talker but something like that needs pillow talk. That's what I heard anyways._

' _It's a nice name. "Precious future." Read as "Kimi." Who came up with it? Your mom or dad?'_

 _To my surprise, she hid her face and I thought she was crying. I honestly had no clue what I did. Should've been obvious._

 _AftervKaneki kicked my ass. I barely made it home alive but I was gonna die. That much was clear. I had called Kimi in a delirious state and she came over. I had attacked her as soon as she stepped in the door. I would've killed her but I was just too weak. I thought I was done. She was gonna call me in and go out the same way as Sis. What a lame way to go._

' _Nishiki.'_

 _I looked up to see her offering her shoulder. I took it, sinking my teeth into her soft skin. She was like a drink of water after a long trek through the desert. She didn't scream or shout or anything. She just took it in stride. As I was lost in her taste, she said to me._

' _Around the time you had come up to talk to me, I had lost both my parents and little brother in a car accident while they were on vacation. I was in Tokyo. I was all alone. When I thought about never seeing my family again. I got so sad I knew it was wrong but I thought I'd be better off dead. And then you showed up and you saved me. So go ahead. Live.'_

 _There it was. The last word my sister ever uttered in this world, being uttered by the woman I cared for most. She had said I had saved her, I don't think she realized how much she saved me. From more than the gaping hole in my stomach. But the hollow life I had been living. I let go of the flesh I had bitten into. I wanted it badly but I just couldn't bring myself to do it._

 _It's hard to trust somebody but maybe I wouldn't mind being betrayed by her._

' _You're so stupid.'_

 _I don't know who I was saying that too. Her or me."_

 _I've been through too much shit in my life for the one good thing to ever happen to me be taken away by the likes of YOU!_ Nishio threw himself forward into a frenzied, leaping crawl.

"Can I help you?" Tsukiyama looked at the incoming berserk ghoul with contempt. The frenzied combatant launched himself at the Gourmet who batted him aside. But he still kept coming, roaring out a battle cry.

"For crying out loud…" The sophisticated ghoul growled angrily and lost his cool. He slammed the rage-driven man to the ground. "I don't have time to deal with you. I've been fasting to eat Kaneki! I'm starving!"

He plunged his Kagune into his pinned target. The hazelnut head coughed up blood then stopped moving. Kaneki's looked on in shock as the drill like Koukaku was ripped out and it's owner boasted. "Did you actually think you could take me down without using your Kagune? A ghoul's strength is largely dependent upon their Kagune. The RC cells surge within our bodies. An increase in muscular strength. An increase in recuperative strength. Enhanced mobility. It gives us all kinds of benefits. If the Kagune is like an engine, human meat is the gasoline. If you do not maintain it like I do with high-quality meals, it'll soon rust and stop functioning. Listen to me, people! Low-quality sustenance will result in proportionate performance!"

"He's right." Touka groaned as she sat up.

"Touka," Kaneki called to her, "Are you all right?"

The question went unanswered as she continued, "Both you and I are basically fighting him empty-handed. I can barely heal my would. All of the times, Now her cooking has to catch up to me. Maybe if we could somehow feed on her." She looked towards Kimi.

"No!" the half-breed shouted, "She's…"

"Want to get eaten by Tsukiyama instead?" The abrasive teen cut in.

"No, but…"

She sighed. "Damn it. What'd I come here for? You die and I lose a day off. Idiot." He looked at her in surprise at her attempt of maintaining her self-pride.

Tsukiyama turned back to the altar. "Well then, enough of the sideshow." His intention was to return to Kimi and acquire some flesh for Kaneki when Nishio came at him again. The uninjured opponent grinned, admiring the other's stubbornness. "Aw! Don't you know when to quit?!"

"Shut up!"

The ravenous ghoul slammed the half-dead one to the ground again and proceeded to try to make him all dead. By repeatedly stabbing him over and over and over while the two members of Anteiku could nothing else but watch.

"YOU'RE AN ANNOYANCE! AN ANNOYANCE! ANNOYANCE! ANNOYANCE! ANNOYANCE! ANNOYANCE! ANNOYANCE! ANNOYANCE!" The thoroughly aggravated foodie shouted before stopping his assault on his victim. Breathing heavily, he regained his composure and asked the mauled body. "Can't we be friendly? Don't ever get in my way."

He turned around towards Kimi and nearly began walking again but a hand on his leg and a raspy voice stopped him. "I… I've got… nothing else. I've got nothing but Kimi. Touch her and you die. Tsukiyama. I'll come back from the dead to kill you."

More pissed than he could ever think possible the psychopath grabbed his source of anger ready to give him another beat down.

Kaneki felt so helpless. Especially when he looked at Nishio giving everything he had including his last breath to defend his love. _I want to know what drives him this far. I don't want him killed, not now. Is my Kagune not coming out because I've been living off of sugar cubes? If human meat is gasoline, Touka and I are both out of fuel then. But I can't bring myself to eat Kimi, not even human meat. Human meat._

Suddenly pieces of a puzzle started putting themselves together. The half-breed turned to his female companion. "Touka. You at full strength against Tsukiyama. Who's stronger?"

She paused to think about before answering. "I don't know. We used to be about even,"

"Touka… I have an idea."

Tsukiyama threw Nishio to the ground again after stabbing him several more times. "Oh boy, I may end up killing you."

"Tsukiyama!"

The gourmet followed his meal's voice to the injured teens. The dark-haired one was on his knees facing the madman with the sole female combatant right behind him. Kakugans squinted dubiously at the pair as the insane ghoul had a nagging feeling.

"You ready?" She asked her companion.

"Yeah."

"Then look away."

She pulled aside his shirt and took a large bite of his shoulder. He grimaced as she gnawed at it until she was able to pull off a large chunk of flesh. As she swallowed it she realized that for once Tsukiyama was right. He didn't taste too bad.

Speaking of which, the ravenous psychopath hit a whole new level of anger mixed with jealously as he shouted. "HE'S MINE!"

The Koukaku ghoul flew across the church, lunging with his drill-like weapon. She was calm shedding her jacket, not wanting to tear it, as she stood. The woman who dared to take his dish had the audacity to deflect his blow then insult his pride. Her single Ukaku wing batting aside his supposedly stronger Kagune like fly

"Yours? Are you crazy?" She leveled a cold gaze with her Kakugans towards him and snarled. "There's nothing here that belongs to you."

As the two combatants squared off, Kaneki recalled the central part of his plan. It was a piece of information that Marcus had shared. It had actually saved his life when he fought Amon. The Kakuja had told him that ghouls have a defense mechanism when they eat. After tasting flesh, their RC production increase and so do their abilities. So when another ghoul shows up after smelling the fresh kill the first one is able to ward off the intruder. The half-breed didn't remember it till Tsukiyama admitted that he had been fasting. Using this defensive state would be the only way he was using his Kagune, which he activated after he tasted the half-blooded teen's blood. The state only lasts for a short while, so his Kagune would be weak and if Touka started her state now, she'd be at close to full strength. In theory, She'd be able to overcome the natural weakness Ukakus have over Koukakus. Essentially, this leveled the field.

Touka broke the tension and made the first move. She flitted around the room moving from place to place with blinding speed. Visually, she was impossible to track no more than just a blur if that. In order to keep up with her, Tsukiyama had to follow the sound of her footsteps. He tracked her moving from pew to pew, cracking some of them from the power of her movements, bouncing off the walls and the railings of the upper floor. She had no pattern to her actions. Completely random in an attempt to make the direction of her attack unpredictable.

She came at him from above after a bounce off the railings, and she swiped her wing at him. He was able to keep up with her just enough to raise his Kagune in time to block her blow. Cracks formed on the drill-like weapon, spider-webbing out from where her ghoul claw met his. Despite the damage, it held and the gourmet shoved her back.

A pleased grin formed on his face and he said. "Calmato."

Her Ukaku crystallized and she replied coldly. "Cal… what?"

Then the Rabbit fired a spray of spikes to which her target threw up his natural weapon in defense. It blocked most of the rounds but a few made it through and grazed him. One scratched his cheek and the narcissist took offense but couldn't do much under the hail he was being pinned down by. She intensified her fire and knocked him on his back. She relented and returned her Kagune to its normal state.

Kaneki was amazed. _Wow. That's Touka's kagune. She's going toe to toe with Tsukiyama._

The crazed foodie burst out into laughter and not the best kind either. He stood to his feet in a swift movement. "I am overjoyed, Miss Kirishima! To sustain this much damage from an Ukaku Kagune I match up so well against!" His injuries started to heal and the cracked on his Koukaku sealed up.

"It was inexcusable for you to steal Kaneki from me. But to see you like this… IT BRINGS BACK THE HUNGER I HAD BACK THEN!" he declared maliciously as the end of the drill extended into a blade and he gave it a fencer's flourish. "I shall adorn Kaneki with your organs. An unexpected hors d'oeuvre. Thank you."

He leapt and attacked with a flurry of slashes that reduced the pews to tinder but left his actual target unharmed. She had leapt over him and lunged from behind. The Koukaku ghoul spun around and deflected the strike with a pleased smile. He jumped up and backward adding a flip before landing on the railing of the second floor. The Ukaku type flew across the room, wrapping her Kagune around her arm like a gauntlet then swung her fist at her enemy. The insane foodie dodged to the side while the purple-haired girl continued and slammed into the wall. Without slowing down, she gritted her teeth and charged the madman tearing a large gash into the wall, releasing an intense war cry.

The driven girl slammed into the madman like a freight train. He had to support his ghoul claw with his other hand to avoid being bowled over. His feet dug into the ground as he tried to shove back but she had too much inertia built up. His Kagune cracked and splintered beneath the force of her bull rush. With a sweep of her hand and wing, the overpowering fighter threw him across the church. Shocked he watched his natural weapon disintegrate before he crashed into the pews splintering them as well. She placed a foot on the railing and waited for her opponent to move.

"Not bad, Miss Kirishima." Tsukiyama complicated as he grabbed onto an unbroken pew and pulled up himself to his feet. He looked worse for wear. His clothes were torn and he had bloody gashes everywhere. "You leave me no choice. I didn't want to have to do this."

Then the gourmet turned and sped towards Kimi pulling out a handkerchief. "A strategic mastication!"

He was stopped in his tracks as he felt something pull at his tie. He looked down to see the bloodied hand of Nishio clinging to the neckpiece with a death grip. The man himself looked dead, save for a determined toothy snarl.

"WHAT ARE YOU, A ZOMBIE?!" The interrupted foodie exclaimed panicking, stomping on the near dead obstructer's head and pulling at his tie. "Let go… of me!"

He looked up just in time to the red line of light as Touka sped past him. The left side of his body exploded in blood. His arm was gone, the muscles on his side and face were exposed and his eye torn out. The hazelnut head let go of the tie and the recently wounded insane man stumbled drunkenly.

"This is not good… w-we are… so behind… schedule." He chuckled disjointedly, turning to his desire and shuffled towards him. "K… k… Kane…ki…For my afterlife… a… a taste."

He lurched and fell into the pews silent and apparently dead. Touka stood over him and snarled. "Eat your own flesh, you crazy gourmet."

 _Is it over?_ Kaneki hoped.

Nishio dragged himself to Kimi and onto the podium. He wheezed. "Kimi."

She stirred and mumbled. "Nishiki?"

"Hold on. Let me untie you." He removed the ropes binding her wrists. Then he felt a presence behind him.

"Touka?" The half-breed asked tentatively.

The violet haired teen stood menacingly behind the wounded ghoul. "Nishiki. Move." When he didn't she responded with. "I heard them talking, she knows what you and Kaneki are. She's too much of a risk, we can't let her live. If you wanna stay alive."

He still didn't move from that spot between the girls. He turned and faced his fellow ghoul. He looked with a silent statement that said he would not move but it also her asked to let it go. The Ukaku stared back blankly. She didn't want to do this but it had to be done.

"Touka!" The sympathetic half-ghoul called out. "She's like Hide to me. Or Yoriko to you. I understand you want to get rid of risks but if Yoriko ever found out what you were, could you kill her?"

"Shut up. Don't you get it? I'm doing this so that doesn't happen!" She shouted and fired her Kagune at the human.

Without hesitation, the nearly dead man turned and pulled his lover into his arms shielding her and taking the full brunt of the attack. When the hailstorm of shards stopped, he lost his strength from the severity of his wounds and fell onto the alter using the last of his willpower to remove Kimi's eye coverings. The grim intending girl stepped closing ready to carry out her work. When the sympathetic woman widened her eyes in amazement and muttered one word.

"Beautiful."

Everyone froze, having no idea how to respond, even the resolute teen. Gaining some measure of strength, the hazelnut head stood again beside his only care in the world. Her will faltering, the usually steadfast Anteiku member didn't know what to do. 'Beautiful' was something that no one used to reference a ghoul, at least not in the genuine manner that the person in front of her had used. If she had seen a ghoul in what's considered their ugliest state and call them 'that'. _Would she actually turn us in?_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

With that Touka turned and fled the church.

"Is she like you?" Kimi asked Nishiki but when she turned to him, he started teetering as he was finally able to relax and all the adrenaline and willpower that kept him going finally ran out and he fell. "Nishiki!"

She caught him and felt for a pulse as her training had told her to do. Miraculously, his heart was beating. She held him close and wept thankfully.

Above the church by the small bell tower. Touka sat against it legs pulled up to her chest, her forehead resting on her knees and her arms wrapped around herself. Her singular Ukaku wing floated on the light breeze forlornly.

 _We should've killed her_. She thought regretfully then she mumbled. "How am I beautiful?"

* * *

 _ **36, 792 words**_

 _ **Alright back in business and with a bang.**_

 _ **The Gourmet arc was one of my least favorites simply because of Tsukiyama. He was introduced but he never really furthered the plot in my mind. Just was there as an antagonist but it didn't do much. However i could not deny all the character**_ ** _development, so i wrote it._**

 ** _I'm also aware that benching Marcus the way I did was a under handed way of keeping him from fudging up the arc. Besides it is also starting a character development arc for Marcus._**

 ** _I have gone back and edited Devils do Cry, changing the horrid scene of Marcus and Touka talking to each other._**

 ** _My style of writing this story is under the assumption that the reader has not read or watched Tokyo Ghoul. Given that i had dropped a major spoiler in The wolf joins the Sheep. That was edited out._**

 ** _I will continue to make changes to the previous chapters as i continue on. Fixing continuity issues, grammer and the works. I just took care of some of the major stuff first. The No-eyed Monster will be under review next and will come out with the next chapter._**

 ** _Thank you, ThatGreenDooredBookshop and VegaBlack1992 for following my story and becoming part of this little fandom_**

 ** _REVIEW ANSWERS:_**

 ** _GuineaPigsOP: It is good to be back and it feels good to actually have a plan instead of just winging it. You're right. Guinea pigs are op._**

 ** _TwainApprentice: You asked me a while back about the tarot card connects Sui has in Tokyo Ghoul. I did a lot of research and preplanning to pull this off. The Tarot card i found to fit Marcus is the Knight of swords which represents skill, bravery, defense, enmity, wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin. It also carries death._**

 ** _Next time:_**

 ** _War and Peace_**


	14. Hiatus Notice

**_I apologize severely for not getting a chapter out to you guys especially with my promise not to vanish for more than three months._**

 ** _Unfortunately the main reason why is because I am basically having a crisis of faith. Not only have I started to lose interest in "Shivering Grasp of a Promise" but I reread it, and I realized that it sucks. However you guys seem to like it, so I am not going to drop it entirely._**

 ** _Now, I have some clue to what's wrong with Shivering Grasp, including the title. "If one note is off it destroys the entire symphony." According to that quote, there might be more wrong than I know. So, I'm going to have to take a short hiatus to find as many of the problems as I can and fix them. I already have someone who's helping me out, but the hiatus will be far shorter if you guys helped out too. Comment what you think is wrong with this story and possible solutions. The more, the better._**

 ** _The first thing I'm going to do is take care of that title and description, I'll change it tomorrow to give you a chance to read this and understand why i changed it._**

 ** _Then I'm going to shift back over to my Macross story as that one's been collecting dust for far too long and to give me something to inspiration on how to fix this story. Don't worry; this story won't collect dust either. I'll try to get back to it as soon as I can_**

 ** _When I do come back, how should I do it? Rewrite it or just replace the chapters as I go along?_**

 ** _Before I resume publication, I_** ** _will release a prototype or multiple if necessary and see if you guys like the new version._**

 ** _Thank you for being amazing readers and dealing with my faults and this story's faults. Please comment on the above so we can reunite sooner_**

 ** _Till next time_**  
 ** _Angelum Tenebrarum_**

 ** _The new title and description:_**

The eyeless devil

Born to unique circumstances, rescued from the streets as a child, and raised by the investigator who found him. He wants to find a place to belong in this world but he can't decide where. With the humans? With the ghouls? Does a monster like him even belong in this world? He doesn't even know what he is.


End file.
